Sawt Falasteen - Tech stocks lead gains, oil prices rise

Seoul led gains across Asian equity indices as tech firms rebounded, helped by a softer-than-expected US inflation print that soothed worries about a possible interest rate hike this month that could weigh on the Al-linked sector.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led gains on Wall Street as trading got under way in New York, adding 0.6 percent.

European markets were mostly lower in afternoon trading.

"The divergence between... (equity markets) seems to be driven mainly by technology stocks, which are outperforming again," noted Swissquote bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.

China's leading memory chipmaker became the latest company to seek huge investment to grow.

ChangXin Memory Technologies is seeking to raise up to $9.8 billion in an initial public offering as China counts on homegrown hardware to boost its position in the artificial intelligence race.

It comes as shares in Dutch tech giant ASML rose more than two percent, as Europe's biggest company by market value said strong demand for AI systems pushed up its sales forecasts and drove a gain in second-quarter profits.

Seoul's stock market, which has borne the brunt of recent losses for the tech sector, jumped as much as seven percent at one point Wednesday before paring the gains.

That came on the back of an 8.8-percent rally in chip giant SK hynix.

"The AI stock market rally has a ‘winner takes all’ mentality right now," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading platform, pointing to the nearly 25 percent plunge in its shares Tuesday after revealing disappointing uptake of its latest AI mainframe processors.

She said that companies that were AI laggards or looked like they will be left behind by the AI boom were getting sold off.

But investors are also concerned about the high valuations and the vast sums being spent on in artificial intelligence, with tech shares also being occasionally hit by painful selloffs.

"AI uncertainty remains one of the major themes for markets as we lead up to some key tech earnings reports in the coming weeks," said Brooks.

"If you are a tech firm, and you can’t win at AI, either through the production of AI-necessary components, or investments in AI, then you are at risk," she added.

The dollar was mostly lower against its main rivals as expectations of a US rate hike this month recede.

Data released Wednesday showed US wholesale price inflation eased in June as energy costs fell on hopes of a lasting resolution to the Middle East war.

The producer price index (PPI) dropped by 0.3 percent month-on-month, the first such contraction since August 2025, said the Labor Department.

That followed Tuesday's release of data showing consumer price inflation also eased in June.

Oil prices rose moderately Wednesday as American forces again hit sites in Iran and US President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade of ships sailing to and from the country's ports.

Gains in "oil prices are being held in check by a supposition that President Trump's combative rhetoric is more of a negotiating strategy than a precursor to hard-line military action that would destroy Iran's oil infrastructure," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

- Key figures around 1330 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $85.32 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $80.20 a barrel

New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 52,589.43 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 7,574.14

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 26,261.18

London - FTSE 100: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 10,521.79

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,377.68

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 25,019.49

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 68,751.51 (close)

Seoul - Kospi: UP 6.2 percent at 7,284.41 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.4 percent at 24,618.10 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,955.58 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1425 from $1.1423 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3426 from $1.3386

Dollar/yen: UP at 162.27 yen from 162.18 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.12 pence from 85.33 pence

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W.Mansour--SF-PST