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August 4, 2026 - 05:34
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(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks diverged from Wall Street’s tech-led rally as persistent volatility in South Korean equities underscored lingering concerns over the artificial intelligence trade. The yen slipped after its intervention-led gains.MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks dropped 0.5%, with nine of its 11 industry groups posting losses. The benchmark is heading for a second day of declines after surging 5% Friday. A regional semiconductor gauge fell 1.2%, while Korea’s Kospi dropped 1% after earlier gaining 2.1%.Sentiment on Wall Street remained more positive with Nasdaq 100 futures rising 0.3%. Palantir Technologies Inc. surge 14% in extended trading after raising its forecasts, while Amazon.com Inc. dropped 1.6% post-market after Chair Jeff Bezos disclosed plans to sell shares. A three-day rally helped the company reach a $3 trillion market value on Monday.Elsewhere, the yen slipped 0.3% to 157.67 per dollar following four days of gains. The currency’s sudden advance early Monday had fueled speculation that authorities may have intervened to support the yen again, building on last week’s coordinated action by the US and Japan.Technology stocks remain volatile as investors increasingly question whether billions of dollars of spending on AI will translate into stronger growth and profits. Geopolitical developments and US jobs data later this week also remain in focus as traders assess whether lower oil prices will ease inflation pressures and influence interest-rate expectations.“Investors are essentially waiting for data to force a clearer read on rate direction rather than trading on rhetoric,” said Billy Leung, an investment strategist at Global X Management. “Friday’s US payrolls print — that’s the next real test.”Another potential challenge for markets comes Tuesday, when SpaceX reports its first earnings as a public company.It also sets the stage for one of the largest share unlocks in capital markets history, with as much as $116 billion of stock becoming eligible for sale for the first time next month.“Investors are cautious ahead of SpaceX earnings and job reports while they digest a mixed picture on the Middle East,” said Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG International in Sydney.On Monday, a Wall Street rally saw a gauge of megacaps post its best day since March and the S&P 500 Index close within touching distance of a record high. A gauge of semiconductor stocks rose about 1%.But the volatility in the sector is rippling across the industry, with Coatue Management’s hedge fund plunging 8.3% last month as the selloff in AI stocks whipsawed another tech-focused money manager.In other corners of the market, oil retraced some of Monday’s losses.President Donald Trump said his latest offer of talks is Tehran’s “last chance” and that he expects a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. WTI rose 0.8% to about $81 a barrel, after sliding over 5% on Monday.Treasuries held gains from the previous session, when declining oil eased inflation concerns. The yield on the 10-year bond was little changed at 4.68%. Gold was steady at about $4,060 an ounce.Still, the on-again, off-again nature of US-Iran diplomacy may mean earnings and jobs data will have to do the heavy lifting for the bulls this week, according to Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.In the countdown to a slew of jobs figures, data on Monday showed US manufacturing activity expanded in July at the fastest pace in more than four years, production surged and firms added workers.Forces that propelled US stocks to record highs this year remain “firmly intact” after a reset in retail investors’ speculative trading, according to Citadel Securities’s Scott Rubner.“Markets are transitioning from a flow-driven environment back to one increasingly dictated by earnings, corporate demand, and the macroeconomic backdrop,” he wrote.Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 12:31 p.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) fell 0.4% Japan’s Topix fell 0.3% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3% The Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1512 The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 157.62 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7574 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin was little changed at $63,756.71 Ether fell 0.2% to $1,863.21 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.68% Japan’s 10-year yield declined 2.5 basis points to 2.795% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.97% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.7% to $80.93 a barrel Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.–With assistance from Elaine Lai and Abhishek Vishnoi.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
