Global Market Today: Asian stocks rally after US tech surge, oil slump

Asian stocks rallied on Monday, mirroring Wall Street's gains thanks to a surge in technology shares and a drop in oil prices that pushed US benchmarks to their best day in seven months. South Korea's Kospi Index jumped over 5% early in trading, while Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed nearly 3%. A broader Asian share index rose 1.5%, with futures for US benchmarks inching up.

In the oil market, US oil struggled with losses in Asia after Brent crude fell nearly 6% in the previous session, settling below $93 a barrel. President Trump stated that further strikes on Iran wouldn't be necessary, but warned that the US remains "locked and loaded," indicating a potential winding down of the conflict.

The S&P 500 rallied the most in seven months, while a gauge of chipmakers surged nearly 7%. The Nasdaq 100 closed 3.4% higher, despite Nvidia Corp.'s shares dropping 4.3% amid a probe into CEO Jensen Huang's affair with a woman believed to be a suspected Chinese spy.

The market rally followed a turbulent week, during which chipmakers faced sell-offs over concerns about tighter regulation of the AI industry due to a Democratic sweep in the US midterms. Meanwhile, a steady decline in oil prices has helped ease inflation fears.

Experts noted that the tech selloff was more of a reset than the start of a structural downturn in AI investment. However, this rebound does not eliminate the risks from concentrated positioning and elevated expectations. UBS's Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi warned of the need to monitor these factors.

Looking ahead, investors will be watching October US consumer prices data, which is expected to show smaller increases than in September. While the recent volatility may not end the door on future market fluctuations, it seems investors are merely repositioning within the AI trade rather than abandoning it altogether, according to Morgan Stanley's Chris Larkin.