Asia shares climb as tech mood swings, oil retreats

Asian stock markets surged on August 5, 2026, following strong earnings reports and a renewed appetite for tech that led Wall Street to record highs. Japan's Nikkei rose by 3% and South Korea's index by 4.1%. Despite setbacks for tech companies like AMD and SpaceX, who saw their stocks drop after disappointing earnings, the overall market sentiment remained positive. Oil prices fell as hopes for de-escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions emerged, benefitting global bond yields. The drop in oil prices eased inflation concerns, leading to a decrease in U.S. Treasury yields. The Euro remained stable against the dollar, while the New Zealand dollar slipped due to rising unemployment.

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OIL SLIDE BOOSTS BONDS

Sentiment was supported by an ongoing slide in oil prices as Qatar said mediators were making progress in efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war, though details were lacking.

Brent crude fell 1.4% to $78.27 a barrel, a long way from its July top of $102, while U.S. crude dropped 1.7% to $74.50.

A man walks in front of an electronic screen displaying Japan's Nikkei stock prices quotation board inside a conference hall in Tokyo

A man walks in front of an electronic screen displaying Japan's Nikkei stock prices quotation board inside a conference hall in Tokyo, Japan, April 27, 2026. REUTERS/Issei Kato Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

John Oh, an energy economist at CBA, said ship tracking numbers suggested oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz were proving more resilient ‌than first ⁠thought, perhaps reaching 40% to 45% of pre-war levels last week.

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"We estimate that traffic flows only need to return to 50% to 60% of pre-war levels to assert oversupply conditions in global oil markets," he wrote in a note.

"This helps explain why Brent oil futures are so quick to move into the $70s as markets are justified to price in oversupply worries when there are hopes that the strait will be officially re-opened."

The pullback in oil provided some relief from inflation fears and boosted bonds globally, with 10-year Treasury yields now ⁠at 4.603%, down from last week's high of 4.747%.

Markets also sharply pared the probability of a September rate hike from the Federal Reserve to 57% from 67%.

Fed Bank of Kansas City President Jeff Schmid, however, used a speech on Tuesday to call for tighter policy to help bring inflation back to the central bank's 2% target.

Currencies were mostly quiet, though the ⁠New Zealand dollar slipped 0.3% after data showed unemployment hit a decade peak of 5.6% in the June quarter.

The euro was flat at $1.1537 , just short of its recent six-week high at $1.1559. The dollar was a shade lower on the yen at 157.43 , with the threat of intervention lingering over traders.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he ⁠was sure Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will "do what is best" for the country's economy, which markets took as encouragement to raise interest rates further.

Japan and the United States launched a rare joint yen-buying intervention last week and vowed to take further action if needed to shore up the currency.

In commodity markets, the drop in yields helped non-interest-paying gold up 1.3% to $4,130 an ounce .

Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Shri Navaratnam

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Asia shares climb as tech mood swings, oil retreats

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