Asian Stocks Rise As Investors Watch US-Iran Tensions, Oil Surges While Gold Slips

We are back with quick updates about global stock markets and major developments across some of the top companies worldwide.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific traded higher on Monday, even as investors kept a close eye on tensions between the US and Iran. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that a US Navy guided missile destroyer fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, after which marines boarded and seized the vessel.

South Korea’s Kospi was 0.4% higher at 6,219, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to 58,829. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up by 0.6% at 26,329, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.1% to 5,003. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 remains unchanged at 8,939.

Wall Street, on Friday, hit records again, and the mood was unmistakable. The S&P 500 hit a fresh all-time high. It jumped 1.2% at 7,126. As for Nasdaq, it climbed 1.5% and settled at 24,468 for its 13th consecutive winning day and its longest positive streak since 1992. What about the Dow? The stocks surged as much as 1,100 points during the session before trimming gains to 868 points at closing. Dow, at the closing bell, was up 1.7% to end at 49,447.43.

Oil prices surged on Monday as tensions between the US and Iran escalated following attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears of supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May added 6.2% to $89.0. per barrel. International benchmark Brent for June delivery gained 5.6 % to $95.42 a barrel.

Gold dropped on Monday as the dollar strengthened, while reports of the Strait of Hormuz being closed again raised fresh inflation concerns. Spot gold declined 0.8% to $4,789.88 per ounce, after touching its lowest level since April 13 earlier in the session. US gold futures for June delivery dropped 1.5% to $4,810.10. Among other metals, spot silver slid 1.3% to $79.73 per ounce.

In Dubai, gold prices were down by more than Dh5 per gram on Monday. The price of 24K gold dropped Dh5.25 to Dh577.00 per gram, down from Dh582.25 at the previous market close. Other variants also declined, with 22K at Dh534.25, 21K at Dh512.25, 18K at Dh439.00 and 14K at Dh342.50 per gram.

Here’s a look at some of the important developments across the global markets:

Google in talks with Marvell to develop new AI chips: Report

Google is reportedly in talks with Marvell Technology to develop two new chips aimed at improving the efficiency of running AI models. One of the proposed chips is a memory processing unit designed to work alongside Google’s tensor processing unit (TPU), while the other is a new TPU built specifically for running AI models. Google has been working to position its TPUs as an alternative to the GPUs produced by Nvidia, which currently dominate the AI hardware market. TPU sales have become an important contributor to growth in Google’s cloud business, as the company looks to demonstrate that its investments in AI are translating into returns.

US renews Russian oil waiver to ease global supply concerns

The US Treasury Department has renewed a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a month, even as some lawmakers criticised the move as being too lenient on Moscow amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The waiver permits purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16. It replaces a 30-day waiver that expired on April 11 and does not cover transactions involving Iran, Cuba and North Korea. The move is part of the administration’s efforts to manage global energy prices, which have risen sharply during the Iran war. It follows pressure from countries in Asia that have been dealing with the impact of higher energy costs and have urged Washington to allow alternative supplies to reach the market.

Eli Lilly in advanced talks to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics for over $2 billion

Eli Lilly is in advanced talks to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics for more than $2 billion. A deal could be reached as soon as Monday and may include additional payments tied to Kelonia meeting certain development milestones. Boston-based Kelonia Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech firm developing a pipeline of genetic medicines targeting a range of diseases. The potential acquisition would strengthen Lilly’s cancer portfolio and expand its presence in the competitive oncology market. Lilly, which has seen strong growth from its obesity drugs, has been diversifying into other therapeutic areas, including inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, eye disorders and gene-editing technologies through acquisitions and partnerships.

SK Hynix begins mass production of memory module for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chip

SK Hynix said it has begun mass production of a next-generation memory module designed for Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin artificial intelligence chip. The company said it has started producing the 192GB SOCAMM2, a new memory module built for AI server applications, while also improving power efficiency. SOCAMM2 products are specifically designed to work with Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform, SK Hynix said in a statement. The company added that the new memory is aimed at addressing bottlenecks seen during the training and inference of large language models. SK Hynix is one of the world’s largest memory chip makers and a key supplier of advanced memory products to Nvidia.

QXO to acquire TopBuild in $17-billion deal to expand distribution business

US construction supplies distributor QXO has agreed to acquire building products distributor ‌ and installer TopBuild in a deal valued at $17 billion. The deal will make QXO the second-largest publicly traded building products distributor in North America, with more than $18 billion in combined revenue. Under the terms of the deal, TopBuild shareholders can choose to receive $505 in cash or 20.2 shares of QXO common stock for each share held, subject to the condition that the overall consideration is structured as about 45% cash and 55% stock. QXO said the deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to be immediately and significantly accretive to its earnings.

Asian airlines see surge in demand on European routes amid Middle East disruptions

Major Asian airlines have reported a surge in demand on European routes as travellers avoid disrupted Middle Eastern hubs, a shift that could reportedly persist even after the Iran war eases. Carriers including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air and Qantas reported strong performance on European routes in March, even as they faced a sharp rise in jet fuel costs. Cathay Pacific said demand is expected to remain strong through April, supported by Easter travel and increased long-haul bookings routed via Hong Kong. Singapore Airlines said seat occupancy on its European routes rose to 93.5% in March from 79.7% a year earlier, partly driven by spillover traffic as capacity through Middle Eastern hubs declined. Before the war, Gulf carriers including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways accounted for about one-third of passenger traffic between Europe and Asia.