SINGAPORE, June 2, 2026, 15:21 SGT
Asia markets held firm Tuesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.28% and the Shanghai Composite added 0.43%, offsetting a 0.3% dip in Japan’s Nikkei 225. The AI trade continued to draw interest from buyers, even as Brent crude stayed near $94 and Middle East risks remained in play.
Asia-Pacific markets are once again caught between rising AI spending and higher oil prices. Tech and chip shares have seen gains from AI, while inflation tied to oil has put pressure on airlines, consumers, and central banks. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan was up 0.4% after moving in both directions earlier. “This isn’t a re-rating of the AI trade; it’s profit-taking after a blistering run,” said Fabien Yip, market analyst at IG in Sydney. Reuters
Asia’s market day ended mixed. South Korea gave up gains and fell hard after starting higher. Hong Kong and China held onto their advances and helped nudge the regional index higher, though gains were slim. The market tone stayed cautious, with risk appetite muted.
Anthropic has confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO, moving ahead of OpenAI in the push to take frontier AI players public. The Claude maker’s filing follows its late May fundraising at a $965 billion post-money valuation. Kat Liu, a vice president at IPOX, said the timing allows Anthropic to take advantage of “strong investor interest in AI and growth stocks” while market conditions hold. Reuters
Nvidia keeps Asia’s chip trade in focus as CEO Jensen Huang told a crowd in Taipei the company has “secured supply for very robust growth.” He added Nvidia is “still supply constrained.” The launch of its new AI PC chip steps up competition with AMD and Intel, and Huang called the Vera data-centre processor a top growth driver. Reuters
Alphabet laid out the price tag for its AI push. The Google parent is looking to raise $80 billion in equity, pulling in $10 billion from Berkshire Hathaway, to build out AI infrastructure. Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust Company, said Berkshire’s involvement signals belief that Alphabet will “earn a reasonable return” on its AI spend—money going into data centers, chips, and equipment. Reuters
Korea sends up a flag. South Korea’s consumer price index climbed 3.1% in May from a year ago, the quickest since March 2024, with petroleum products up 24.2%. Park Sang-hyun, economist at iM Securities, said a Bank of Korea rate hike in July is certain. His outlook from there depends on the Iran war and what happens to oil prices.
But the risk is clear. If a Middle East ceasefire breaks down and oil climbs, investors could stop viewing crude as a short-term issue and start pricing in another inflation hit. Stephen Innes said crude shortages are now moving into “the fuels that actually power economies,” like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. That would likely hit Asian importers first. AP News
Asia got some room from Wall Street overnight. The S&P 500 closed up 0.26% on Monday, while the Nasdaq gained 0.42%. U.S. stocks remain close to all-time highs as AI demand kept outweighing concerns over geopolitics. The latest U.S. factory numbers added to the mood, with the ISM manufacturing index up to 54.0 in May from 52.7. Anything above 50 points to growth.
Traders are looking to see if demand tied to AI keeps spreading past just the largest stocks. A lasting calm in the Middle East might draw buyers back to local equities, but if oil prices jump again, the rally could shrink, get pricier, and make things tougher for central banks.
