Global market wrap: Asian markets trade mixed as oil prices jump further; Ferrexpo shares surge 36%

We are back with quick updates on global developments around stock markets, commodities and companies that are creating buzz today.

Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday amid rising oil prices as concerns that the US-Iran conflict could drag on weighed on investor sentiment.

South Korea’s Kospi index climbed 2.1% to 7,142 on Tuesday, while Japan’s Nikkei index was flat at 66,457.

China’s Shanghai Composite index rose marginally by 0.4% to 3,947, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3% to 25,346.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.8% to 8,942 on Tuesday, while Singapore’s Straits Times slipped 0.4% to 5,767.

Kicking off the holiday-shortened week, US stock futures sent mixed signals on Tuesday. The markets were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

S&P 500 futures were trading flat, Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.6%, while futures tied to the Dow declined 0.6%.

Oil prices rallied for a third straight day on Tuesday to trade at six-week highs as the US and Iran continued to exchange strikes.

The US crude oil futures for October delivery rose 1.8% to $93.13 per barrel on Tuesday by 0019 EDT, while Brent futures for December delivery gained 0.8% to $97.75 per barrel.

Gold prices were steady on Tuesday as markets braced up for Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision in the upcoming policy meeting next week. US gold futures for ​December delivery were trading down marginally by 0.09% to $4,473 per ounce. However, spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,427 per ounce by 0419 GMT.

Here’s a look at the key developments of the day:

Anthropic reportedly drops plan to acquire Decart AI

According to a news report, Anthropic has decided against pursuing an acquisition of artificial intelligence (AI) startup Decart AI.

The Claude chatbot maker had explored a deal valued at $6 billion and conducted due diligence on Decart, but ultimately walked away from the potential transaction, the report mentioned, adding that the companies could still pursue other collaboration opportunities.

Wistron shares plunge over 6% after company prices GDR issue at a discount

Shares of Taiwan’s Wistron Corporation dropped more than 6% on Tuesday after the company announced a $1.47 billion global depositary receipt (GDR) issue to fund raw material purchases.

According to a company filing, Wistron priced 25 million GDRs at $58.88 each, representing 250 million new common shares. The shares were priced at about $186.24 new Taiwan dollars each, roughly a 5.5% discount to Wistron’s Monday closing price of NT$197.

Wistron, a key Nvidia supplier, said the offering is expected to be issued on Thursday, with the proceeds earmarked for purchases of raw materials in foreign currencies.

Ferrexpo shares surge 36% as company restarts production

FTSE-listed Ferrexpo shares shot up more than 36% on Monday after the Ukrainian iron ore producer restarted production over the weekend, following a $100 million fundraising announced on 4 September.

The funding enabled the company to resume output despite ongoing attacks on ports and vessels in the Ukrainian region. Ferrexpo said it is now focusing its exports on customers in Europe amid the documented attacks on Ukrainian ports.

Shenzhen Longsys Electronics shares list flat in Hong Kong debut

Memory-module maker Shenzhen Longsys Electronics shares opened flat in Hong Kong on Tuesday after the company raised HK$7.08 billion ($903 million) in an upsized share sale.

The shares opened at the IPO price of HK$236 and were still trading at that level in early Hong Kong trading. This comes after Longsys sold about 30 million shares following the full exercise of an option to increase the deal size by 15%.

The company had priced the offering at a 44% discount to its previous close in Shenzhen, where it has been listed since 2022.

South Korea’s Q2 nominal GDP growth hits 47-year high at 26.4%

South Korea’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) grew at its fastest pace in 47 years in the second quarter on the back of strong semiconductor exports and artificial intelligence (AI)-related investment supporting the economy.

Data from the Bank of Korea showed on Tuesday that nominal GDP rose 9.2% quarter-on-quarter in the three months through June and 26.4% year-on-year, the fastest annual increase since the third quarter of 1979, when it jumped 27.7%.

Real GDP in the second quarter increased 0.6% from the previous quarter and 3.7% year-on-year, in line with expectations.

Australia’s Firmus signs deal with OpenAI for Malaysia data centre capacity

Australia's Firmus said on Tuesday it had signed a multi-year deal with ChatGPT ‌maker OpenAI to supply computing capacity from two of its Malaysian data centres. This makes Open AI an anchor tenant in two of its so-called AI factories in Malaysia.

The deal is significant as it comes ahead ​of the company’s rumoured initial public offering (IPO) this year, ​which could be one of Australia’s largest in ⁠recent years.

The AI infrastructure firm was valued at above $10.5 billion ​in its last fundraising, backed by Nvidia, Jane Street, ​Blackstone and Coatue Management.