Asian Shares Inch Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Tuesday, with falling oil prices and softening U.S. Treasury yields helping underpin sentiment.

AI-related stocks were in focus after an index of U.S. semiconductor stocks jumped over 4 percent on Monday amid fresh optimism around global semiconductor demand. Meta's new AI agent app Muse rocketed to the top of the App Store in just ten days, reviving investor enthusiasm for the chip sector.

The U.S. dollar index clung to gains ahead of a meeting between leaders from the U.S. and Gulf nations on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in New York.

Against the backdrop of the wars in Ukraine and Iran that show no signs of abating, U.S. President Donald Trump will have a flurry of diplomatic meetings with 11 world leaders.

Investors also await the outcome of this week's summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described weekend talks on AI, trade and investment with China's top trade negotiator Li Chenggang as "very successful."

Gold fell toward $4,300 an ounce in Asian trade due to expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate hikes.

Brent crude futures rose about 1 percent to $101.28 a barrel after closing 3.4 percent lower in the previous session on hopes for diplomatic efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war and signs of recovering Saudi oil exports.

Saudi Aramco loaded about 14 million barrels of crude oil on seven supertankers inside the Mideast Gulf on Sunday, according to data from TankerTrackers.com.

The Trump administration has proposed investing $5 billion in a new fund that would help Middle East countries rebuild energy infrastructure damaged in the Iran war, the Wall Street Journal reported.

China's Shanghai Composite index gave up early gains to end little changed at 3,952.13 ahead of the Xi-Trump summit. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished 0.18 percent higher at 25,087.75.

Japanese markets remained closed for a national citizens' holiday sandwiched between Respect for the Aged Day and the Autumnal Equinox.

Seoul stocks closed higher for a third consecutive session, tracking an overnight rally on Wall Street amid renewed optimism over artificial intelligence.

The Kospi index pared early gains to end 0.15 percent higher at 7,017.91. Chipmakers ended mixed, with Samsung Electronics rising 0.9 percent while SK Hynix fell 1.5 percent.

Australian markets eked out modest gains, led by mining and technology stocks while energy stocks lagged.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.30 percent to 8,757.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.36 percent higher at 8,951.

Ahead of next week's interest-rate decision, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock has warned that upside inflation risks may be materializing due to high energy prices and excess demand.

Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter signaled policymakers remain focused on inflation that's above target.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index ended 0.39 percent higher at 13,875.48, extending gains from the previous session.

U.S. stocks rallied overnight as oil prices slumped and the yield on 10-year bond dropped below the 5 percent mark on hopes for a potential breakthrough in Middle East talks at the UN meeting this week.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 2.3 percent to close at a record high, lifted by gains in AMD and other AI heavyweights.

The S&P 500 surged 1.5 percent and the Dow gained 0.7 percent despite hawkish Fed comments, with Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee voicing concern that inflation pressure is spreading beyond tariffs and energy, potentially requiring more aggressive and front-loaded rate hikes.