This content was published on
July 21, 2026 - 03:35
5 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Asian equities rose for the first time in four days, led by chipmakers, as investors looked to megacap earnings this week for clues on whether the AI-driven rally can be sustained. Oil fell.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.7%, with benchmark gauges in South Korea and Taiwan both gaining more than 2.5%. Chip giants Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. were among the biggest contributors. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 2.2% as trading resumed after a holiday on Monday. Earlier, a gauge of US chip stocks rebounded from last week’s selloff.US equity-index futures reversed earlier losses, with contracts for the Nasdaq 100 Index rising as much as 0.5%.Also supporting sentiment was a pullback in oil. Brent crude fell 0.9% to about $88.46 a barrel even as traders watched for disruptions to Saudi Arabian exports after Houthi rebels threatened to blockade an export route through the Red Sea. Worries that higher energy costs could boost inflation weighed on bonds Monday.Elevated oil prices and escalating Middle East tensions are giving investors another reason for caution, adding to the rotation out of chipmakers’ stocks after this year’s blistering rally.“The market has already undergone a fairly substantial correction,” said Ikuo Mitsui, a fund manager at Aizawa Securities Co. “At the same time, corporate earnings have held up reasonably well and have proved more resilient than expected.”This week brings the first results from the US megacaps, and pressure is building for the companies to justify AI investments. Tesla Inc. and Alphabet Inc. kick off big tech’s reporting season Wednesday. Then, Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. announce the following week.Elsewhere, the Canadian dollar held steady after the Trump administration vowed to impose a fresh 50% tariff on some of the country’s goods. Treasuries held their losses from Monday, while gold climbed 0.5% to trade around $4,025 an ounce.The pound held its losses from the previous session after UK’s new prime minister Andy Burnham named former Defense Secretary John Healey to be his Chancellor of the Exchequer in a surprise move.UK gilts declined Monday after Burnham unnerved investors over his approach to the country’s finances. The selloff pushed yields on longer-maturity bonds to their highest since late May after Burnham said he will seek “any flexibility” while following the government’s borrowing and spending rules.Tariff concerns resurfaced after the Trump administration vowed to impose a fresh levy on some Canadian goods, citing what it called unfair treatment of American alcohol, cars and dairy products, further inflaming trade tensions between the two neighbors.If Trump follows through with the levies, which are set to take effect in 30 days, the move would mark one of the most severe trade actions he’s taken against the US’s second-largest trading partner.Attention, however, remains firmly on the tech sector. For now, there’s little evidence that the latest escalation in the Middle East will weaken economic growth, enough to change the pro-risk stance, BlackRock Investment Institute strategists led by Jean Boivin wrote in a note.“The AI investment boom — an important driver of growth — and our preference for AI infrastructure remain intact despite recent volatility,” the strategists wrote. “Today’s global economy is also far less oil-intensive than previous energy shocks, making it more resilient to higher energy prices.”Corporate News:A federal judge temporarily paused Paramount Skydance Corp.’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. saying it “likely” violates antitrust law. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s e-commerce service was fined €550 million ($629 million) by the European Union for selling illegal products in the largest penalty under the bloc’s content moderation rulebook. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 10:32 a.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) rose 2.4% Japan’s Topix rose 1.8% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% The Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.4% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was unchanged at $1.1414 The Japanese yen was little changed at 162.49 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7649 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin was little changed at $65,345.5 Ether rose 0.3% to $1,909.97 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.59% Japan’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.725% Australia’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.97% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $82.98 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,029.77 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.–With assistance from Momoka Yokoyama and Matthew Burgess.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
