Synopsis

Asian stocks climbed as investors favored semiconductor shares due to AI demand. Oil prices declined as energy supply disruption fears eased. South Korea's Kospi index saw a significant rally, while other regional benchmarks edged higher. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 Index indicated a more cautious market sentiment. Company earnings and profit growth will guide market direction next month.

Amid ongoing debate about inflation, interest rates and geopolitics, the market’s direction over the next month may come down to earnings, according to Anthony Saglimbene, a strategist at Ameriprise.

Asian stocks gained as investors piled back into semiconductor stocks on renewed optimism over AI-driven demand. Oil fell.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.5%, led by a 2.6% rally in South Korea’s Kospi, though the regional benchmark remained on track for a weekly loss. SK Hynix Inc. swung between gains and losses in Seoul trading after raising $26.5 billion in its American depositary share offering.

Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index slipped 0.4%, signaling a more cautious tone.

Brent crude dropped 0.3% to about $76 a barrel, extending Thursday’s decline as traders judged the US-Iran conflict was unlikely to escalate into a broader disruption to energy supplies. That helped Treasuries hold gains from Thursday, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year at 4.55%. Government bonds of similar tenor in Japan and Australia edged higher.

Optimism toward technology shares resurfaced as investors focused on signs that the AI investment boom remains intact after a sharp bout of selling in chip stocks earlier this week.

Amid ongoing debate about inflation, interest rates and geopolitics, the market’s direction over the next month may come down to earnings, according to Anthony Saglimbene, a strategist at Ameriprise.

“Companies will need to do more than just beat estimates,” he said. “They will need to show that margins are holding at high levels, that guidance remains firm and probably even better than analysts currently project, and that tech-led profit growth still has enough breadth to support the market’s valuation.”

Spending by chip companies is at the center of that debate. In the latest capital expenditure announcement, Micron Technology Inc. said it plans to increase spending on new plants in the US to $250 billion to help meet demand fueled by the artificial-intelligence boom.

SK Hynix’s ADR sale is expected to help fund growing spending plans amid soaring demand for equipment used in AI computing. The company and Samsung Electronics Co. are poised to ramp up investment in South Korea as part of a government-led initiative worth $880 billion. The ADRs are set to begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol SKHYV, which will change to SKHY when they begin regular trading July 13.

AI is likely to remain a key driver of markets during the second half of 2026, but the narrative is evolving, and this transition may create a more selective environment, according to Jeff Buchbinder at LPL Financial. Investors should focus less on who is spending the most and more on who is generating measurable returns from those investments, he said.

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