Asian Shares Mixed As AI Profit Concerns Weigh

(RTTNews) - Asian shares ended mixed on Tuesday as tech and AI-related shares remained shacky and oil prices rebounded on heightened fears of Middle East escalation.

Adding to concerns about profitability of AI investments, Apple delivered mixed earnings results.

The iPhone maker posted increased quarterly revenue and profits but forecast slightly below-consensus gross margin for the current quarter, citing mounting headwinds from rising component prices.

The U.S. dollar edged lower in Asian trade as Americans prepared to cast their ballots in their midterm elections, where President Donald Trump's Republican Party is facing an uphill challenge to keep its majority in Congress.

Gold prices fell nearly 1 percent toward $3,900 an ounce while Brent crude futures rose almost 2 percent to $106.43 a barrel after slumping 7.6 percent in the previous session on signs of diplomatic progress between the U.S. and Iran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government has been granted more authority by the country's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei to pursue peace talks.

The United States reportedly struck Iran's strategic Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the latest in a series of limited strikes on the country in recent weeks.

Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said that "the ball is in the U.S. court" to prevent war and that Tehran remains prepared for both diplomacy and military confrontation.

China's Shanghai Composite index fell 0.82 percent to 3,608.10 despite the People's Bank of China announcing it would step up the use of monetary policy tools to support its capital market, strengthen market resilience and boost investor confidence. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.57 percent to 23,525.97.

Japanese markets were closed for a national public holiday. Seoul stocks tumbled amid foreign and institutional sell-off on growing worries about massive artificial intelligence (AI) spending.

The Kospi index plunged 3.59 percent to 5,648.79. Semiconductor shares suffered heavy losses, with Samsung Electronics, SK Square and SK Hynix falling 4-5 percent.

Australian markets eked out modest gains as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.85 percent, marking the fifth increase this year.

Governor Michele Bullock signaled a wait-and-see approach to further tightening and emphasized anchoring inflation expectations within the official target band of 2 percent to 3 percent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.34 percent to 8,886.80, led by materials and consumer stocks. The broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.35 percent higher at 9,008.90.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index edged up 0.16 percent to 13,720.76, halting losses from the previous session ahead of the general election.

Overnight, U.S. stocks gave up early gains to end mixed as lingering concerns about a potential artificial intelligence bust offset a sharp pullback in oil prices.

Crude oil prices fell more than 7 percent after President Trump said he's in no rush to restart the war with Iran and Tehran said it was open to peace talks.

Investors also reacted to Marvell Technology's announcement of a massive $115 billion acquisition of Lumentum as well as Oracle's plans to raise $20 billion through stock and bond offerings to finance its AI infrastructure expansion.

Anthropic released an amended S-1 filing that revealed $895 billion in AI commitments, $17 billion quarterly revenue and a $23.3 billion net loss.

In economic releases, a survey showed U.S. manufacturing activity picked up in October amid solid domestic demand, driving factory hiring to levels not seen in over five years and keeping inflation at the factory gate elevated.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1 percent and the S&P 500 dropped half a percent, extending the sharp pullback seen over the last two sessions and hitting their lowest closing levels in three months. The narrower Dow rose 0.4 percent.