Global Shares Mixed As Chipmaker Stocks Rally in Tokyo and Seoul

Global shares were trading mixed on Monday, with benchmarks in Tokyo and Seoul leading gains thanks to buying of computer chipmakers’ stocks.

France’s CAC 40 was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% in early trading to 8,282.06. The German DAX shed 0.2 percent to 25,993.23. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.2 percent to 10,814.01.

US shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.3 percent to 53,273.00. S&P 500 futures were little changed at 7,721.75.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 2.1% to finish at 66,399.84, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 4.6 percent to 6,995.39.

Shares in Samsung Electronics soared 5.7 percent and memory chipmaker SK Hynix surged 8.1 percent. Renesas Electronics Corp. added 3.1 percent, Rohm rose 7.8 percent and Tokyo Electron edged up 4.7 percent.

“The AI complex continues to provide the local equity markets with its most dependable growth pulse,” said Stephen Innes, a former trader, about the Asian markets.

“The AI complex is firmly in the leadership seat and reminding investors that, for all the hand-wringing around valuation, the hardware trade is still refusing to roll over.”

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9 percent to 25,413.12, while the Shanghai Composite gained less than 0.1 percent to 3,932.70.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose less than 0.1 percent to 9,010.90. In energy markets, Brent crude, the international standard, added 4 cents to $96.32 a barrel following further escalation of the six-month -long US war with Iran.

The US military denied that Iran struck an uncrewed American military vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, which remains effectively closed, calling the claim a “total lie.”

A senior Iranian official said Tehran plans to announce an “exclusion zone” outside the strait, targeting vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway. That followed US strikes on three Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran launching ballistic missiles at US warships.

Benchmark US crude fell 29 cents to $91.19 a barrel. US markets will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Market players expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates before the year ends to help cool inflation, which remains well above 3 percent . The Fed’s next policymaking committee meeting ends September 16.

The Fed has a stated goal of cooling inflation to a target of 2 percent. August inflation figures are expected on Sept. 11. In currency trading, the US dollar slipped to 155.95 yen from 156.22 Japanese yen. The euro cost $1.1634, up from $1.1621.

The weakening yen has been a major area of concern for Japanese leaders.

Its value has rebounded after the dollar surged to the 160 yen level last week.

Market watchers are focused on what the Bank of Japan might do on interest rates at its next policy board meeting later this month.

“The stronger-than-expected US employment report generated only a limited recovery in the dollar, suggesting that the market is currently responding more strongly to the changing BOJ policy outlook,” said Linh Tran, a market analyst at XS.com.