Market UpdatesJul 21, 20262 Min
Global market wrap: Asian stocks gain amid ongoing US-Iran negotiations, gold recovers; AMD launches its first rack AI system Helios
We are back with quick updates on global stock markets, commodities and companies that you shouldn’t miss today.
Asian markets jumped on Tuesday on reports that the US and Iran could explore mediation efforts against fresh military exchanges.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi shot up 4.2% to 6,787 on Tuesday, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 2.7% to 65,901.
China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 0.6% to 3,820, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was almost flat at 25,161, up 0.07%.
Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.8% to 5,540, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up by a marginal 0.06% to 8,796.
US stock futures showed a promising start in overnight trade on Tuesday. S&P 500 futures were trading higher by 0.4%, Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 1%, while futures tied to the Dow rose 0.2%.
In regular trade on Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.19%, the Nasdaq 100 was down 0.05%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.59%.
Oil prices took a breather on Tuesday after Brent breached the $90-per-barrel mark on Monday. The US crude oil futures for July delivery slipped 0.5% to $82.07 per barrel by 0018 ET, while Brent futures for August delivery fell 0.9% to $88.45 per barrel.
Gold prices recovered on Tuesday as a drop in oil prices eased inflation concerns. Spot gold jumped 1% to $4,046 per ounce by 0418 GMT, while US gold futures for August delivery gained 0.9% to $4,051 per ounce.
Here’s a look at some major developments across global markets:
AMD launches its first rack AI system Helios
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) climbed 4% on Monday after the chip giant announced that it was preparing to ship its first rack-scale system for artificial intelligence (AI) called Helios. This gives direct competition to Nvidia’s wildly popular Grace Blackwell and Vera Rubin systems.
Microsoft announced on Monday that it will use the Helios system in its data centers, joining Meta, OpenAI and Oracle.
Archer Aviation surges 20% as company unveils military craft with Anduril
Archer Aviation shares rallied 20% on Monday after the company unveiled its Thunder autonomous vertical takeoff and landing defence craft with Anduril.
The company’s CEO Adam Goldstein also mentioned that Archer is laser-focused on getting its air taxis certified and flying by the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Markets price in two ECB rate hikes by early 2027
According to a report, inflation-sensitive bond markets have fully priced two additional rate hikes by the European Central Bank (ECB) by early 2027.
Bond prices ended little changed after a volatile session on Monday on the back of swings in oil prices. This shows that traders are focusing on the risk that rising energy costs could rekindle inflation and strengthen the case for further ECB tightening.
Alphabet shares gain on reports of development of a more efficient AI chip
Alphabet shares rose 1.5% on Monday after a media report said that the company was developing a new server chip designed to run Gemini models more efficiently.
The report said that the chip, internally called “Frozen v2”, would permanently embed parts of Gemini’s architecture directly into the silicon, reducing the number of calculations and amount of data movement required to answer queries.
Ant International raises $1.2 billion to expand global payments
Ant International, a Singapore- and Shanghai-based financial technology company backed by Alibaba Group, announced on Monday that it had raised about $1.2 billion in an equity financing round.
The proceeds were earmarked to expand the company’s cross-border payments business and AI-powered commerce solutions globally.
The company also informed that existing shareholders, including Ant Group and Alibaba Group, participated in the fundraising alongside international investment institutions.
Revolut launches its first Asia-Pacific bank in Australia
Financial technology firm Revolut is launching a bank in Australia after securing an authorised deposit-taking institution (licence) from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
Revolut Bank Australia is the company’s first banking entity in the Asia-Pacific region and follows Revolut’s other licensed banks in the UK, Europe, and Mexico.
