BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday after U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish ahead of potentially market-moving events later in the week. U.S. futures edged higher. Oil prices fell back after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced fresh sanctions against Iran and warned that countries persisting in doing business with the Islamic Republic would face retaliation. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% to 65,856.43 and the Kospi in South Korea reversed early losses, gaining 0.7% to 6,742.74 as traders resumed buying tech shares, snapping up bargains. Shares in Japan’s SoftBank Group climbed 2.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was nearly unchanged at 25,524.18, while the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.1% to 3,887.35. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 9,164.60. Taiwan’s Taiex jumped 0.9%, while the Sensex in India lost 0.1%.
On Monday, areas of the bond market that the U.S. Treasury Department has been trying to calm eased a bit, relieving pressure on stocks. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% and pulled a bit further from its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.8%.Tech stocks led the decline following big swings through the summer on worries that the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology has sent prices too high and huge demand for AI chips will falter if AI doesn’t yield enough profits.
