Markets Briefing: Chip Rebound Lifts Asian Stocks as Oil Eases on Iran Diplomacy
Asian equities staged their strongest session in weeks as investors piled back into semiconductors, driving a chip-led rebound after last week's selloff, while oil slipped as diplomatic signals from Iran eased the Middle East risk premium (BBG). Korea's AI-linked benchmark surged 4.03%, and a tech-heavy mainland China gauge jumped as state-linked institutions were mobilised to support the market, with Beijing reaffirming its annual growth target after softer data (BBG).
"Corporate earnings have held up reasonably well and have proved more resilient than expected," said Ikuo Mitsui of Aizawa Securities, as attention turns to this week's US megacap results for confirmation the AI-driven rally can be sustained (BBG).
Across the region, the CSI 300 rose 2.26%, and Japan's Nikkei futures added 3.29%, rebounding after slipping into correction territory on Friday, while US index futures pointed higher, with the Nasdaq 100 contract up 1.16% (BBG). European markets, by contrast, were set for a tepid open.
Regarding central banks, New Zealand's inflation acceleration bolstered the case for back-to-back Reserve Bank of New Zealand hikes (BBG (FinPost)).
In currency markets, a softer dollar left the index down 0.09%, with the New Zealand dollar up 0.45% after a hot inflation print and the Korean won firmer as local equities surged. Sterling stayed in focus after the previous session's slide: the UK's new prime minister Andy Burnham named former defence secretary John Healey as Chancellor in a surprise move, and gilts were rattled by his fiscal-flexibility comments (BBG) (Yahoo).
In rates, Japanese government bond yields rose 1.7 basis points as the government's new economic plan left the sales-tax question unanswered, keeping fiscal-supply concerns in view (BBG). US 10-year yields eased by 0.8 basis points, and Australian yields fell by 3.1 basis points, both holding recent moves as investors weighed the risk-on tape against the Middle East backdrop (CNBC).
In commodities, precious metals led: silver jumped 3.42%, and gold added 1.46% on a softer dollar and a residual risk premium, while copper rose 1.49% on hopes of China support. WTI crude slipped 0.50% as Iran signalled talks could resume and mediators floated a truce, unwinding part of the Hormuz premium that had driven crude sharply higher this month (CNBC). Bitcoin rose 0.82% as haven demand cooled.
On the data slate, New Zealand's second-quarter inflation accelerated to 4.1% year on year, its fastest in more than two years and above the 4.0% consensus, on a fuel-driven 1.5% quarterly rise.
The UK's labour report was decent: employment jumped 147,000 against an 85,000 consensus, and regular pay held at 3.4%, in line with the consensus. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9%, in line with the consensus. The claimant count rose by just 6,700 against a consensus of 29,400, and payrolled employees fell by 4,000; public borrowing undershot the consensus. Norway's jobless rate edged up to 4.5%.
On the corporate tape, a federal judge temporarily paused Paramount Skydance's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on antitrust grounds; Novartis reported higher-than-expected profit as newer cancer drugs offset Entresto's generic hit; Julius Baer's profit more than doubled; and Swatch guided for stronger second-half sales despite a soft first-half profit (BBG).
Looking ahead, the European morning brings the German and euro-area ZEW sentiment surveys at 11:00 CET and the ECB's quarterly Bank Lending Survey at 10:00 CET, a timely read on credit two days before Thursday's Governing Council decision, with a Hungarian rate decision at 13:00 CET expected to deliver a cut. The Trump administration's fresh tariff on some Canadian goods and the start of US megacap earnings, with Tesla and Alphabet on Wednesday, frame the risk backdrop (BBG).
Time Stamp: 21 July 2026, 08:00 CET