Asian equities advanced on Monday led by technology shares, after US and Chinese economic officials met in New York and laid groundwork for a leaders’ summit, Theguardian reported.
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the two countries had discussed creating a channel to communicate on artificial intelligence issues, which he called the “US-China AI dialogue”. Chinese state media described Sunday’s talks as candid, in-depth and constructive, according to Theguardian.
Also read: Bessent Meets He Lifeng as Trump-Xi Summit Nears
Key facts
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.88% and South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi jumped 2%, while China’s CSI 300 rose 0.6%. Tokyo was closed for the silver week holiday through Wednesday.
- Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell just over 2%, or $2.01, to $101.8 a barrel, after adding to Friday’s declines. It remains above $100 and above pre-Iran war levels near $72.
- The US-China talks in New York preceded a summit scheduled for Thursday in Washington between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
- JPMorgan analysts said Middle East oil flows remained strong, averaging 17.1m barrels per day over the previous 10 days, as Saudi Arabia ramped up exports through the strait of Hormuz.
- Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, told Al Jazeera that Tehran had conveyed conditions to mediators for re-engaging in negotiations to end the war with the US.
AI rhetoric and the market’s read
Nvidia co-founder and chief executive Jensen Huang pushed back on warnings from AI researchers that the technology could threaten humanity, calling the alarms overblown “doomsday narratives”. In remarks to CBS News, he said there was no chance 2030 would mark the end of the world and described scaring people as irresponsible.
Stephen Innes, an analyst at Quintex Intel, framed the New York meeting as preparation rather than breakthrough, saying both sides seemed focused on keeping tensions contained while trade, investment and artificial intelligence stayed on the table.
Also read: Natural Gas Futures Rise 0.55% as EIA Storage Build Falls Below Forecast
Oil and the Middle East
Crude’s slide extended Friday’s move on hopes Saudi Arabia would restore roughly half of the crude shipments disrupted when its east-west pipeline to the Red Sea was shut. Attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis continued, including strikes on what they described as sensitive sites in Riyadh and an Aramco facility at Yanbu, a Red Sea export hub.
JPMorgan analysts noted the pivot came largely from Saudi Arabia, with satellite data showing Saudi oil moving through the strait of Hormuz averaging 2.9m bpd over the prior six days, up from 700,000 bpd in August. A Revolutionary Guards spokesman, Hossein Mohebbi, said Iran would use new weapons and hit previously untouched locations if the US launched a fresh offensive, according to the Fars news agency.
Why it matters
Technology-heavy Asian markets are pricing in the chance that Washington and Beijing can keep trade and AI friction from escalating, even without a broad settlement. Breaking that momentum is the Middle East, where the threat of renewed US strikes against Iran and Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure still hang over oil supply. A sustained fall in Brent would ease pressure on importers, but at $101.8 a barrel the benchmark remains far above its pre-war level.
What to watch
Thursday’s Trump-Xi summit in Washington is the immediate test of whether Sunday’s discussions produce anything concrete. UK consumer sentiment data, the US Chicago Fed National Activity Index for August and remarks by IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva are also due on Monday, alongside Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian’s expected presence in New York for the UN General Assembly.
This article is not financial advice. Commodity and equity markets are volatile and prices can change quickly.
Source: The Guardian
