Asia stocks rise past US-Iran jitters.
Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as strength in tech and persistent optimism over artificial intelligence helped markets largely look past more strikes between the U.S. and Iran.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the best performer in the region, hitting a record high on a rally in local tech and industrial names. Local markets were also encouraged by Tokyo doling out more fiscal measures to help support the economy.
Regional markets took a positive lead-in from Wall Street, which eked out record highs overnight on continued strength in tech and chipmaking names. S&P 500 Futures steadied in Asian trade.
Asian markets were undeterred by a spike in oil prices, after the U.S. and Iran traded a fresh round of airstrikes late-Tuesday. Peace negotiations between the two appeared to have fallen through after reports earlier this week showed Iran backing out of indirect communication with the United States.
Dollar rises on Gulf tensions.
The U.S. dollar remained firm on Wednesday as investors assessed renewed hostilities in the Middle East and a sweeping new U.S. tariff proposal, while Japanese authorities stepped up warnings against excessive currency moves after the yen weakened beyond the closely watched 160-per-dollar level.
The US Dollar Index edged 0.1% higher during Asian hours, rising for a third straight session.
US Dollar Index Futures also traded 0.1% higher.
Traders watch Iran war updates, US jobs data
Investor focus remained firmly on the Middle East as Israel continued military operations in southern Lebanon, while Kuwait said its air defenses intercepted hostile missile and drone attacks.
U.S. forces conducted strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, the U.S. Central Command said in a post on X. The island lies near the Strait of Hormuz. Market sentiment was also dampened after the United States proposed tariffs of at least 10% on imports from 60 economies, arguing that their failure to effectively block goods made with forced labor distorted global trade and hurt U.S. commerce.
Chinese chip stocks surge.
Chinese chipmaking stocks surged on Wednesday in anticipation of a sweeping index rebalance that could trigger more than $48 billion in gross passive flows amid growing optimism over artificial intelligence-driven demand.
AI chip designer Cambricon Technologies jumped 10%, GPU maker Moore Threads Technology added 8.5%, NAURA Technology Group and fellow equipment supplier Piotech jumped between 2% and 4%.
Among foundries, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp– China’s biggest chipmaker by volume– added over 2% in Hong Kong trade, while peer Hua Hong Semiconductor rose nearly 4%.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange announced last week it would add AI chipmakers including Moore Threads and MetaX Integrated Circuits to its Star Market 50 Index, and raise the weighting of new-economy stocks in the broader SSE 50 Index to 28%.
Goldman Sachs projected the shake-up would channel $3.1 billion of inflows specifically into tech hardware and semiconductor companies, with broader two-way flows across all index changes exceeding $48 billion.
The index overhaul comes amid a broader policy push from Beijing to improve local chipmaking capabilities and improve investor confidence in the Chinese semiconductor industry.
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