Asian stocks headed towards recording gains for the sixth consecutive session on Wednesday, driven by continued consumer demand for artificial intelligence applications, which supported technology company stocks, while oil prices continued to decline, amid reports of a possible increase in supplies from the Middle East.
In the United States, President Donald Trump said that talks with Iran in New York had made progress, before he later threatened to eliminate the country if an agreement was not reached, according to Reuters.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to deliver a speech before the United Nations General Assembly later, Wednesday, while markets await reports of the possibility of holding talks between him and Trump.
Brent crude futures fell 0.9 percent to $98.37 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3 percent to $89.32 per barrel.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Washington later today, amid speculation about the possibility of extending the trade truce between the two countries, in addition to the possibility of cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.
Renewed interest in artificial intelligence helped South Korean stocks rise 0.5 percent, with Samsung shares rising more than 2 percent, while Taiwanese stocks rose 0.7 percent, approaching record levels.
The broader MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks excluding Japan rose 0.3 percent, recording gains for the sixth consecutive session, while Chinese blue-chip stocks fell 0.5 percent.
Japanese markets were closed due to a public holiday, but Nikkei futures contracts recorded 66,735 points, an increase of approximately 1,700 points from the closing level of the cash index on Friday.
Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage firm Pepperstone, said that the markets expect “a strong opening in Japan tomorrow, with an additional decline in oil prices, stabilization of interest rate and Treasury markets, while the Nasdaq spot and futures markets record new record levels.”
He added, "Memory stocks led the market, supported by another strong session for the semiconductor sector, which recorded gains for the sixth day in a row."
Consumers are aggressively moving towards artificial intelligence agents
The data equipment sector received a boost from strong consumer demand for Meta's artificial intelligence agent, Muse, which topped the app download charts in the United States over the past two weeks.
Analysts are now looking to evaluate the performance of a similar product from Google Labs called “CC,” and the extent of its ability to attract consumers.
Attention was also drawn to the levels of demand for the SoftBank debt deal, which exceeds $10 billion, which reportedly attracted interest requests exceeding $20 billion, which could make it one of the largest high-risk bond deals ever.
On Wall Street, futures contracts for the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq indexes rose slightly.
In Europe, futures contracts for the Euro Stoxx 50, DAX and Financial Times indices rose by about 0.4 percent each.
The decline in oil prices contributed to pushing US Treasury bond futures slightly higher, with the 10-year bond yield remaining below 5 percent.
On the other hand, the two-year bond yield rose again to its highest level since mid-2024 at 4.7879 percent, with investors pricing in the possibility of additional tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve.
Richmond Federal Reserve Chairman Tom Barkin and Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins on Tuesday expressed their support for raising interest rates last week, in light of continuing concerns about inflation.
Futures markets indicate a 54 percent probability that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again next October, while markets are currently pricing in an additional tightening of 33 basis points by the end of the year.
Expectations of higher interest rates helped push the dollar to its highest levels in several weeks against the euro, the British pound, and the Canadian dollar, which strengthened its position from a technical standpoint. The euro settled at around $1.1430, near its lowest level in two months.
Analysts pointed out that Trump's call to ban US diesel exports may constitute negative news for inflation in Europe. Due to the region's dependence, to a large extent, on fuel shipments coming from the United States.
Europe is already facing a shortage in natural gas supplies, which may push energy prices higher during the winter.
The dollar rose slightly against the yen to 157.60 yen, while speculators are wary of the possibility of Japanese authorities intervening again if the US currency exceeds the level of 160 yen.
In commodity markets, gold fell 0.3 percent to $4,341 per ounce, while copper approached record levels, after rising by about 18 percent since the beginning of the year.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, during his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, confirmed that the United Kingdom is ready to lead an international effort aimed at setting global standards for artificial intelligence, warning that the rapid development of this technology may exceed current regulatory frameworks and exacerbate risks associated with national security.
In his first speech to the General Assembly, Burnham said: “We have all heard the warnings, and we must take them seriously. I know the amount of anxiety that people feel, so we must rise to this moment,” he said, according to Reuters.
Burnham's statements came during his first participation in a multilateral meeting in New York since he assumed the presidency of the government, where he made supporting artificial intelligence a fundamental focus of his vision aimed at strengthening Britain's role on the international scene and re-establishing its diplomatic standing.
He explained that his government does not seek to adopt a pessimistic discourse towards artificial intelligence, but rather to benefit from the great economic and scientific opportunities it offers, while dealing seriously with potential risks, whether those associated with delayed protection and regulatory measures, or the use of technology by hostile parties in information wars and disinformation.
In this context, Burnham accused Russian parties of launching disinformation campaigns targeting public opinion, saying that “Russian agencies used various means available to spread lies and misleading information and exploit people’s fears.”
He added that these campaigns included the use of automated accounts and fake websites, publishing forged newspaper articles, and impersonating the visual identity of 28 British institutions. These include universities and the BBC, as well as the promotion of extremist narratives and attempts to influence the 2019 general election.
For its part, Russia denied these accusations.
The British Prime Minister stressed that his country seeks to play the role of an “honest broker” in the artificial intelligence file, based on its close relations with the United States, its improved relations with the European Union, in addition to stable relations with China and India.
He pointed out that Britain has one of the most prominent global institutes specialized in artificial intelligence security, which works closely with the United States and the largest leading laboratories in this field, but he stressed the need to take additional steps to keep pace with future challenges.
The Prime Minister's Office explained that the government informed major artificial intelligence companies of the need to provide a full level of transparency and provide access to new advanced models, in a way that enhances the United Kingdom's readiness and ability to confront potential risks.
Burnham stressed that the basic decisions related to the future of artificial intelligence must be taken by elected governments, not technology companies, announcing his intention to make this issue a major focus during Britain’s presidency of the G20 next year.
He said: “We will work to reach a unified set of global principles and standards that ensure transparency and access to the information necessary to enhance our readiness and ensure the safe development of artificial intelligence.”
He also announced the establishment of the National Center for Information Defense, a new body that will monitor information attacks launched by adversary countries, identify the parties responsible for them, and confront them, in addition to detecting fake content and “deep fake” techniques that may harm British interests.
He added: “Today, I assigned the security services to begin work on establishing a new national center for information defense, whose mission will be to detect these hostile information attacks, identify their sources, and thwart them, in a way that contributes to protecting and defending our democracy.”
The prices of copper and other industrial metals fell during trading on Wednesday, under pressure from the rise in the US dollar, which increased the cost of purchasing goods denominated in the US currency for importers around the world.
The benchmark copper price for three-month contracts on the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.66 percent, reaching $14,651 per metric ton by 03:00 GMT. The most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also fell by 0.23 percent to 110,960 yuan ($16,550.57) per ton, according to Reuters.
This decline came after the rise of the US dollar during volatile trading on Tuesday night, amid mixed effects resulting from the volatility of oil prices and the continued state of geopolitical uncertainty.
The rise of the dollar usually puts pressure on the prices of commodities in which it is denominated, such as copper. It becomes more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Despite this pressure, the market is still supported by strong demand in China, the world's largest copper consumer. The Yangshan Premium index, which measures China's appetite for importing copper, fell to $117 per ton on Tuesday, but was still 62.5 percent higher than at the beginning of this month.
Chinese demand was supported by pre-emptive purchases before some smelters stopped working during the upcoming official holidays, scheduled between September 25 and 27, in addition to the Golden Week holiday extending from October 1 to 7.
Copper prices have also benefited over the past months from increased imports to the United States, in anticipation of possible tariffs on refined copper. However, this support declined after a report indicated concerns among US officials that the potential tariffs would lead to increased production costs for local manufacturers.
In this context, analysts at the Chinese brokerage company Jinrui Futures explained that “weekly US imports have begun to decline,” indicating the decline of one of the most prominent factors supporting the market.
In other metal markets, nickel rose on the Shanghai Stock Exchange by 1.16 percent, after its prices rose on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday evening, following the announcement of the “Indonesia Morowali Industrial Complex”, one of the largest nickel production centers in Indonesia, that the lack of water supplies forced some smelters to reduce the production of iron ore containing nickel.
As for the London Metal Exchange, aluminum fell by 0.63 percent, zinc by 0.68 percent, lead by 0.52 percent, nickel by 0.43 percent, and tin by 0.38 percent.
On the Shanghai Stock Exchange, aluminum fell by 0.14 percent, zinc by 0.47 percent and lead by 0.4 percent, while tin recorded a slight increase of 0.11 percent.
