As Chip Shares Soar, Global Stock Rally Intensifies – Asia Market Wrap

Global equities continued their record surge as momentum in technology stocks picked up and geopolitical tensions lessened. Oil slid.

The MSCI All Country World Index, the broadest measure of global equities, surged for the sixth day in a row to a record high. MSCI’s Asian benchmark rose 1.1% to an all-time high, led by South Korea’s Kospi Index, which has surged 100% this year, making it the world’s best-performing equities indicator. Chip shares rose, with SK Hynix increasing its 12-month gain to more than 1,000% and becoming the third Asian company to reach the $1 trillion market capitalisation level.

Equity-index futures pointed to slight increases for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 after the Wall Street benchmarks closed at record highs. Chipmakers led the push in the US, with Micron rising 19% to exceed $1 trillion in market value. European stocks were also expected to rise at the open.

Brent crude oil fell 1.6% to around $98 per barrel on optimism that the US and Iran will reach a peace agreement. Treasuries maintained their gains, lowering the benchmark 10-year yield by 1 bps to 4.47%. The Dollar fell versus the majority of its Group-of-10 peers, particularly against the Kiwi, as the RBNZ indicated that interest rates will most likely need to be raised.

In other market developments, the Japanese Yen traded at 159 against the Dollar, keeping traders on guard for the possibility of government action to prop up the currency.