Most Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, with technology shares leading gains as investors tracked an overnight rally on Wall Street, while keeping a close watch on Middle East tensions and a busy week of central bank decisions.
Regional markets took cues from a stronger close on Wall Street, as tech stocks drove the advance on optimism surrounding Nvidia’s annual developer conference.
U.S. stock index futures ticked lower in Asian trading on Tuesday.
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RBA hikes rates in a closely split decision The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.10% in a closely split 5-4 decision on Tuesday, highlighting growing concern among policymakers that inflation could remain above target for longer.
The central bank flagged rising fuel costs linked to the Middle East conflict as a key upside risk to inflation, reinforcing expectations that policy may need to remain restrictive.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index traded 0.2% higher after the decision.
The decision comes ahead of other major central bank meetings this week. The Federal Reserve is due to announce its policy decision on Wednesday, while the Bank of Japan concludes its meeting on March 19.
KOSPI leads gains on Wall St tech rebound Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) Chief Executive Jensen Huang unveiled new artificial-intelligence systems and components at the company’s GTC conference, boosting sentiment toward chipmakers and the broader technology sector.
Asian technology and semiconductor stocks followed the positive lead, lifting major regional benchmarks.
South Korea’s KOSPI outperformed, jumping nearly 3%, with Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) shares climbing nearly 5%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5%, while the broader TOPIX index rose 1.1%.
China’s Shanghai Composite edged 0.4% higher, while the blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index added 0.7%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 1.1% higher.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 1.2%, while India’s Nifty 50 edged 0.1% lower.
Middle East tensions persist; oil remains above $100/bbl However, gains were capped as investors continued to monitor escalating tensions in the Middle East. The conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran has entered its third week, raising concerns over disruptions to global energy supplies.
Oil prices remained elevated, with Brent crude holding above $100 per barrel on Tuesday after retreating slightly on Monday.
Prices have surged in recent weeks as the conflict threatened shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil trade.
Persistently high oil prices have also fueled concerns that inflationary pressures could remain elevated, complicating the outlook for global monetary policy.
