Japan, S Korea Stocks Hit Fresh Records, As Oil Prices Gain 2%

Stock markets in Japan and South Korea hit fresh record highs Monday on enthusiasm over the artificial intelligence boom and as investors await a decision on the Iran war ceasefire extension.

Oil prices gained more than 2 percent as US-Iran negotiations continued, including on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and natural gas transit.

Asian shares mostly advanced, and Japan’s and South Korea’s benchmarks hit records during intraday trading, led by technology-related stocks, as investors continued to see growth in AI and other advanced technologies.

Shares of SoftBank Group, the investment company that focuses heavily on AI, rose more than 9 percent after hitting records last week.

In South Korea, the Kospi index jumped nearly 5 percent and hit an all-time high of 8,874.16. Samsung Electronics, its biggest company, was up more than 9 percent. Official data on Monday showed that South Korea’s exports surged 53 percent year-on-year in May, buoyed by global demand for semiconductors.

The Nikkei 225 was up more than 12 percent over the past month, while the Kospi soared over 27 percent during the same period.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was trading 0.9 percent higher at 25,408.96. The Shanghai Composite index edged down 0.1% to 4,063.72, after China reported over the weekend that factory activity in May softened with signs of slowing new exports demand.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1 percent at 8,720.30,.

Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 1.4%, while India’s Sensex added 0.6 percent.

Three months after the Iran war began, uncertainties over a permanent end to the war are still driving market movements and keeping oil prices swinging, even as optimism on robust AI demand and strong corporate earnings have fueled a stock market rally including on Wall Street.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump met with advisers in high-level talks but had not decided yet on a tentative plan to extend the Iran war ceasefire by 60 days, while Iran had said a deal was not finalized. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was also still in limbo. 

The strait has been largely closed and the US has imposed a sea blockade on Iranian ports.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.4 percent early Monday to $93.33 per barrel. It was approximately $70 a barrel in late February, before the start of the war.

Benchmark US crude was 2.8 percent higher at $89.76 a barrel.

On Friday, Wall Street stocks reached more records powered by big technology stocks, with the benchmark S&P 500 adding 0.2% in its seventh straight gain to 7,580.06.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7 percent to 51,032.46, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.2% to 26,972.62.Dell Technologies surged 32.8% following strong-than-expected results and after it raised its outlook on strong AI-related demand. Microsoft rose over 5.4 percent, while Broadcom was up 4.7 percent.