Oil Prices Fall, Asian Markets Surge
Asian stock markets opened stronger after a decline in oil prices drove gains on Wall Street overnight. Investors continued to monitor the latest developments in the Middle East conflict.
US President Donald Trump has signalled plans to postpone his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping by approximately one month due to Middle East tensions. Trump is expected to visit China in late March.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.27%, driven by expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise interest rates for the second consecutive time, pushing its main policy rate to 4.1%, the highest level since April 2025.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.75%, whilst the Topix surged more than 1%. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 2.94%, with the Kosdaq, comprising small-cap stocks, rising 1.53%.
The gains were sparked by memory chip manufacturers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, each rising more than 3% and 4% respectively. This followed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s announcement that he expects purchase orders for Blackwell and Vera Rubin chips to reach $1 trillion by 2027, made at Nvidia’s annual developer conference on Monday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures index was set at 25,894, compared with the previous close of 25,834.02.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 2.84% to close at $100.21 per barrel on Monday, whilst US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 5.28% to $93.50. Brent subsequently rose 1% to $101.58 per barrel and WTI gained 2% to $95.47.
Equity futures moved sideways after major indices recovered overnight following the oil price decline.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.1%, whilst Nasdaq 100 futures fell nearly 0.2%.
During the overnight US trading session, equities rose whilst oil prices fell as Wall Street attempted to recover from a losing week, with investors monitoring developments in the Iran conflict.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 387.94 points, or 0.83%, closing at 46,946.41. The S&P 500 rose 1.01% to 6,699.38, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.22% to close at 22,374.18.