Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomePMN BusinessStocks Hit Record on AI Rally, Oil Rises on Iran: Markets WrapStocks rose to a record as investors doubled down on the artificial intelligence trade that’s powered equities to all-time highs. Oil climbed as a US-Iran ceasefire deal remained elusive.Author of the article: You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.6mdghohn2n)mtieacdpqewjk_media_dl_1.png Bloomberg(Bloomberg) — Stocks rose to a record as investors doubled down on the artificial intelligence trade that’s powered equities to all-time highs. Oil climbed as a US-Iran ceasefire deal remained elusive.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe MSCI All Country World Index, the broadest measure of global equities, advanced 0.2%, with Asian shares climbing 1.1% to an all-time high. Gauges in South Korea and Taiwan — bellwethers for AI investments — and the Nikkei in Japan all hit records.SoftBank Group Corp., whose investments include chip designer Arm Holdings Plc and ChatGPT maker OpenAI, surged as much as 10%, putting it on track to become Japan’s most valuable company. Sentiment was further buoyed by a 0.5% gain in Nasdaq 100 Index futures after Wall Street benchmarks closed at records on Friday.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againWeighing on the mood, however, was a rally in oil prices. Brent climbed over $93 a barrel as Middle East tensions remained elevated and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz showed little progress. That sent Treasuries lower across the curve. The dollar, the haven of choice since the US-Israel war on Iran started, strengthened for the first time in three sessions.Relentless enthusiasm for the AI trade continued to propel global equities toward record highs, helping lift South Korea’s market to the top of global performance rankings this year. Still, oil’s rebound on Monday after its steepest monthly drop in more than six years is reviving concerns about energy-driven inflation and could complicate the recent recovery in global bond markets.“The AI trade remains then firmly in focus, although it hardly needs additional attention given the extraordinary price action,” wrote Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group.What Bloomberg Strategists Say…“The Kospi index is extending its gains to more than 4%, while other tech-heavy regional benchmarks including the Nikkei, the Taiex and Hang Seng Tech index are also advancing. The AI trade continues to prove generally un-tethered from geopolitical concerns, as crude futures remain solidly higher.”— David Savage, MLIV. For full analysis, click here.Offsetting war worries has been unbounded enthusiasm for sectors touched by the AI trade.The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index, or SOX, is on pace for its best quarter ever after soaring 69% in the past two months. Chips are the best-performing sector in the S&P 500 this year by a wide margin. Micron Technology Inc.’s shares have more than tripled this year. In Asia, SK Hynix Inc. has soared 260%, and Samsung Electronics Co. is up over 180%.If anything threatens the upward arc it’s the velocity of the advance itself, according to Laurent Lamagnere, deputy CEO at Alphavalue in Paris.“There’s a gradual realization across the market that something’s got to give in the AI economy: there’s no way that these massive investments will pay out for every actor,” Lamagnere added. “A correction at one stage would make sense.”In other corners of the market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury climbed three basis points to 4.47%. Yields on government bonds of similar maturity in Australia and Japan also climbed. Futures of similar-tenor debt in France and Germany declined.Gold fluctuated to trade around $4,530 an ounce.During the weekend, an Iranian ballistic missile strike on a Kuwaiti air base caused minor injuries to several Americans, while Israel stepped up its offensive against the Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the US and Iran exchanged messages seeking amendments to a draft agreement that would extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though it remained unclear whether talks were making much progress.“Negotiations between the US and Iran remain an outstanding concern and a source of potential volatility going forward,” said Kyle Rodda, senior analyst at Capital.com. “The risk is the price has been misled by propaganda as the Trump administration sells a looming deal but, to this point, the Iranians remain reticent on the matter.”On Friday, US President Donald Trump posted on social media he was ready to make a “final determination” on a preliminary agreement to extend the ceasefire. Hours later, he left the Situation Room meeting without any decision being made, the New York Times reported.Amendments to the deal continue to be proposed by both sides, though both the US and Iran might ultimately reject the changes and the deal would collapse, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Sunday. “There are likely going to be more setbacks, but the market has already priced an agreement in Iran,” Patrik Lang, chief investment strategist at Geneva-based Global Gate Asset Management. “I wouldn’t expect big market moves, except maybe lower oil, once the deal is announced.”Corporate News:Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will acquire Taylor Morrison Home Corp. in an all-cash deal worth about $6.8 billion, the first major purchase under chief executive Greg Abel and a vote of confidence in the US housing market.SoftBank Group Corp. is poised to overtake Toyota Motor Corp. as Japan’s most valuable company, marking a milestone for the global artificial intelligence boom and a dramatic reshuffling of the country’s corporate hierarchy.Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.3% as of 11:38 a.m. Tokyo timeJapan’s Topix fell 0.2%Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2%Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.2%The Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changedCurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1646The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 159.47 per dollarThe offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7664 per dollarCryptocurrenciesBitcoin fell 0.3% to $73,423.85Ether fell 0.2% to $2,000.96BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.47%Japan’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.690%Australia’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 4.88%CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.7% to $89.70 a barrelSpot gold fell 0.3% to $4,528.21 an ounceThis story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.—With assistance from Matthew Burgess. 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