Asian shares gain on AI optimism, Trump–Xi summit

Asian stocks advanced on Thursday, driven by strong enthusiasm around artificial intelligence as investors largely brushed aside concerns over higher interest rates, while a high-profile summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered few surprises, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

At the start of a two-day meeting, Xi told Trump that trade negotiations were making progress, but he also cautioned that disagreements over Taiwan could push relations onto a dangerous trajectory.

Despite the diplomatic attention, market reactions remained muted as detailed outcomes from the summit were still limited and information remained sparse.

European equity futures pointed to a strong opening, while U.S. stock futures rose by 0.13%.

China’s blue-chip shares slipped by around 0.8% after briefly reaching their highest level since late 2021 at the beginning of the trading session. At the same time, the Chinese yuan climbed to a three-year high against the U.S. dollar.

The Trump–Xi discussions are also expected to touch on the Iran war, which erupted at the end of February, amid a deadlock in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. The war has pushed energy prices higher and forced governments to introduce relief measures for consumers.

The absence of major negative surprises allowed investors to continue pushing technology-heavy equities higher.

Japan’s Nikkei index reached a new all-time peak, supported by data indicating that AI-related demand has contributed to stronger earnings among Japanese companies. South Korea’s KOSPI index gave up most of its earlier gains but still traded 0.17% higher.

SK Hynix, one of Asia’s leading AI-driven stock market darlings, is approaching a $1 trillion market capitalization, which would make it only the second South Korean company after Samsung to enter the trillion-dollar club. Its shares have surged more than 200% so far this year.

This left MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan up by 0.2%, hovering close to the record high reached last week.

However, analysts have warned that elevated oil prices and the ongoing deadlock in negotiations to end the war in the Middle East could reintroduce inflationary concerns into global markets.

Brent crude futures were slightly higher at $105.89 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures stood at $101.33 per barrel, both remaining well above levels seen before the outbreak of the war.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev