Asian Stocks Set to Advance as Oil Pressures Ease: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks were poised to track Wall Street higher as oil’s surge eased after President Donald Trump played down the prospect of a prolonged conflict with Iran, tempering inflation concerns.
Equity-index futures for Japan, South Korea and Australia pointed higher after the S&P 500 snapped a three-day decline and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%. US stock futures were little changed after Broadcom Inc.’s initially disappointing outlook was offset by an upbeat revenue forecast for the next two years.
US crude edged lower to trade around $90 a barrel on Thursday. Trump said renewed attacks on Iran would likely be short-lived and reiterated his claim that the US controls the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Treasury yields edged lower on Wednesday after surging to multi-year highs. Elsewhere, the yen strengthened, keeping traders alert for further intervention as the Bloomberg’s dollar gauge fell 0.2%.
Markets remain highly sensitive to developments in the Middle East, with the outlook for oil likely to shape expectations for inflation and Fed policy. Attention now turns to Friday’s US jobs report for clues on whether the economy can withstand higher borrowing costs and whether policymakers will need to tighten further.
“Stocks are finding some footing after a difficult start to September,” said Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones. “Underlying fundamentals remain constructive. While seasonal headwinds merit attention, they are not sufficient on their own to derail the broader market uptrend.”
The US military carried out a second round of strikes in three days overnight, targeting radar systems and mine-laying capabilities along Iran’s southern coast. Iran retaliated with drone and missile volleys against US bases across the Middle East, continuing a pattern seen throughout the six-month war.
Asked on Wednesday how long the bombing campaign could last, Trump told reporters, “I don’t think too long.”
In Asia, a sharp rise in the yen left traders on alert for signs of further action by Japanese authorities to support the currency.
The yen was little changed early Thursday after surging as much as 1.2% to 158.22 per dollar in New York. The move briefly fueled speculation that officials were checking exchange rates with banks, a step that can precede intervention.
Traders also parsed data showing US companies added jobs at a more moderate pace in August, with the increase the smallest since the start of the year. The figures suggest employers are still hiring, though at a slower pace than in the spring, ahead of closely watched Labor Department jobs data on Friday.
New York Fed President John Williams told CNBC there’s evidence inflation continues to ease as the impact of tariffs fades, while higher energy prices have yet to spill over into services.
“His comments by no means rule out a September hike, but they challenge the market view that a September rate hike is clearly odds-on,” said Krishna Guha at Evercore.
Corporate Highlights:
Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang called on Group of 20 nations to accelerate their adoption of artificial intelligence as a way to enhance growth, urging the world’s largest economies to expand data centers and other infrastructure to support the emerging technology. Meta Platforms Inc. released its most powerful artificial intelligence model yet, with its chief AI officer saying its capabilities are edging closer to top competitors. Alphabet Inc.’s Google doesn’t have to sell off its advertising exchange and instead must make its ad tech tools work with those operated by rivals, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, in a move that saves the tech giant from a second bid to force a breakup. Uber Technologies Inc. is cutting about 3,300 roles, or 10% of its staff globally, in a massive restructuring aimed at reducing management layers and reallocating spending into its ride-sharing, delivery and robotaxi businesses. Elliott Investment Management has built a sizeable stake in Deutsche Telekom AG and indicated the German telecommunications giant should ditch a potential merger with its American arm T-Mobile US Inc., people familiar with the matter said.
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 7:03 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures rose 0.5% S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.4% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% The euro was little changed at $1.1587 The Japanese yen was little changed at 158.73 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7176 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $77,189.54 Ether fell 0.3% to $2,386.68 Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $90.69 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.2% to $4,390.85 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
