Asian stock markets opened higher on Wednesday, extending gains after a rebound on Wall Street, as investors looked past rising oil prices despite Houthi threats to widen the conflict in the Middle East.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.2%, while South Korea’s Kospi surged more than 6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.9%, although S&P 500 e-mini futures edged 0.1% lower, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Brent crude rose 0.6% to $91.55 per barrel after two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday following threats of attack from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.
Overnight, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9%, ending a three-session losing streak as semiconductor stocks rebounded after data showed South Korean semiconductor exports nearly tripled during the first weeks of July and Taiwanese export orders for June exceeded market expectations.
Investor attention is now turning to earnings reports from Alphabet and Tesla. Alphabet is facing increased scrutiny over delays to a key artificial intelligence model, while Tesla is widely expected to report its first quarterly cash burn in more than two years as spending on AI and robotics continues to rise.
Pharmaceutical stocks are also expected to remain in focus after US President Donald Trump announced that all generic drugs imported into the United States will face a 0% tariff for two years starting Aug. 1. The tariff will then increase to 100% for one year before rising to 200%.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, remained close to a one-week high of 101.20. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar slipped 0.1% to 163.06 yen after reaching a four-decade high against the Japanese currency on Tuesday.
Despite oil prices settling at a five-week high on Tuesday, bond and currency markets remained largely stable ahead of next week’s central bank meetings. According to the median forecast in a Reuters poll, the US Federal Reserve is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the remainder of 2026, although economists believe the risk of a future rate increase remains elevated.
Fed funds futures indicate that one interest rate hike by December remains the most likely outcome, while the probability of cumulative tightening of 50 basis points or more by year-end remains roughly evenly balanced, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury bond rose 0.2 basis point to 4.628%, while gold gained 0.5% to $4,097.67 per ounce.
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin rose 0.3% to $66,611.73, while ether advanced 0.7% to $1,936.18.