Asian Markets Mixed, Oil Falls 3.3% as Tech Stocks Waver

Asian stock markets opened Monday with mixed results, while crude oil prices fell more than 3% in early trade. The moves follow a volatile week for global equities, driven by concerns over spending on artificial intelligence. Investors also watched U.S. futures, which edged higher after Wall Street suffered its worst day since June on Friday.

Technology stocks remained the primary source of volatility across the region. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.1% to close at 63,218.02, giving up early gains. SoftBank Group, an investor in OpenAI, dropped 1.8%. Kioxia Holdings, a Japanese memory chipmaker, fell roughly 14% after its earnings forecasts disappointed analysts.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index rose 2.3% to 5,859.83. Samsung Electronics added 1.7%, and memory chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 4.2%. This gain came despite the Kospi dropping more than 16% over the past month. Apple is scheduled to report its latest earnings later on Monday, following market jitters from recent results by Alphabet and Amazon.

Other major Asian indexes showed varied performance. Taiwan’s Taiex edged 0.2% lower, with TSMC shedding 1.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.6% to 23,437.41. The Shanghai Composite index rose 1.2% to 3,640.93, even after China reported that factory activity returned to contraction in October. Australian shares fell 0.6%, while India’s Sensex rose 1.1%.

Oil prices declined sharply in early Monday trading. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped 3.3% to $109.66 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude fell the same percentage to $100.64 per barrel. Iranian top diplomat said over the weekend that negotiators were in Qatar discussing a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the United States met specific conditions.

Currency markets also shifted slightly. The U.S. dollar rose to 157.91 Japanese yen from the previous 157.49. The euro traded at $1.1172, up from $1.1160. U.S. midterm elections are scheduled for Tuesday, with voters expressing concerns about AI, data centers, and inflation.