Tech Shares Lead Gains in Asian Stocks, Oil Rises: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Technology shares led gains in Asian equities following a rally in US peers on Friday. Oil climbed after the US and Iran exchanged attacks involving tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The MSCI Asia Pacific index rose 1.1%, with South Korean chipmakers SK Hynix Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. the biggest contributors. The advance came after the Nasdaq 100 Index closed 0.2% higher on Wall Street and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3.4%. Most US shares fell on Friday though as robust payrolls numbers boosted bets on a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike.

The biggest driver behind the Korean chipmakers’ gains is optimism about a new model from OpenAI, which pushed US chip stocks higher, said Kim Namho, a fund manager at Timefolio Investment Management in Seoul.

OpenAI said last week it is releasing a new generation of its technology, called GPT-6 that the company is positioning as a key milestone in its decade-long push to build so-called artificial general intelligence.

In other assets, the yen edged higher, while Treasury 10-year futures were little changed. There’s no trading of cash Treasuries worldwide Monday because of a US public holiday.

Brent crude rose as much as 0.8% to trade near $97 a barrel before trimming its gains, while West Texas Intermediate was around $92. European natural gas prices climbed as much as 4.2% in thin trading.

The US said it launched strikes against three Iranian oil tankers over the weekend, destroying one, in retaliation for ballistic-missile attacks on US Navy warships. In response, Iran’s top security official said a new restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz will be declared in the coming days, beginning at the US Navy blockade line and extending into parts of the Persian Gulf, Press TV reported.

The rise in oil prices, and Friday’s stronger-than-expected US payroll numbers, are placing added focus on US inflation data due this Friday that may make it more likely the Fed will raise rates when it meets this month.

A Fed rate hike on Sept. 16 “hinges on Friday’s US August CPI print,” Elias Haddad, global head of markets strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, wrote in a note to clients. “A hot CPI print would all but seal a September hike and underpin a firmer US dollar. A cooler reading would strengthen the case for a hold and leave the US dollar vulnerable to a dovish Fed repricing.”

The yen inched higher amid speculation Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund may boost allocations toward domestic assets and as traders weighed a potential interest-rate increase by the central bank this month. The currency strengthened by as much as 0.3% to 155.80 per dollar.

“We are still trading in the wake of last week’s GPIF news,” said Abbas Keshvani, director of Asia macro strategy at RBC Capital Markets. “Potential rotation by the fund could help stabilize the Japanese government bond market and get the yen recovery started before next year”

Elsewhere, China is injecting 300 billion yuan ($45 billion) into its largest banks and insurers, part of the nation’s biggest recapitalization in almost two decades, to shore up the strength of its financial system and sustain lending as economic growth slows.

European bonds, including German bunds, will also be closely watched Monday after the far-right Alternative for Germany scored its best-ever result in a state election on Sunday. The euro was little changed in early Asian trading.

The AfD secured 44% of the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, more than doubling its support and putting it ahead of the long-governing Christian Democratic Union, whose backing collapsed to 17.5%, according to a projection broadcast by ARD.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% as of 12:13 p.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) rose 1.7% Japan’s Topix rose 0.6% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1% The Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.1% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1609 The Japanese yen was little changed at 156.16 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7119 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 0.2% to $79,792.76 Ether rose 0.3% to $2,507.54 Bonds

Japan’s 10-year yield advanced 1.5 basis points to 2.915% Australia’s 10-year yield was little changed at 5.18% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $92.21 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.5% to $4,408.24 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Matthew Burgess and Youkyung Lee.

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