With Attention on US-Iran Talks, Stocks Decline & Oil rises – Asia Market Wrap

Stocks and bonds fell, but oil rose, as continued Middle-East tensions and confusing messages from the US and Iran regarding their cease-fire talks dampened risk appetite.

MSCI’s Asian share index sank 1.3%, reversing a two-day rise, as rising energy costs threatened to drive inflation and stifle economic growth. Technology stocks also fell following a breakthrough reported by Google researchers.

Equity-index futures in the US and Europe indicated to more losses, while the MSCI All Country World Index headed for its first dip this week, signalling that previous euphoria may be waning as the US and Iran negotiate with no end to the war in sight.

South Korean shares slumped 3.2%. Asian memory and storage stocks fell alongside US rivals on concerns about weaker demand, after Google researchers highlighted a novel compression technique for huge language models and vector search engines.

Gold declined 1% to $4,460 per ounce, while silver fell 2% to approximately $70. As sentiment eroded, Bitcoin fell below $70,000.