BANGKOK (AP) \u2014 Oil prices jumped and world shares were mixed on Monday after the U.S. carried out airstrikes and Iran retaliated. <\/p>\n
In early European trading, Germany\u2019s DAX added 0.2% to 25,105.55 and the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1% higher, to 8,347.26. Britain\u2019s FTSE 100 also was up just 0.1%, at 10,506.86. <\/p>\n
U.S. stock futures were mixed, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 0.3% and that for the Dow nearly unchanged. The Nasdaq composite future lost 0.9%.<\/p>\n
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed as much as nearly 5% early Monday before falling back. As of early morning in Europe, it was up 2.3% at $77.72 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude added 2.1% to $72.92 per barrel. <\/p>\n
Prices for both types of crude oil recently had slipped back to around the levels they were at before the war with Iran<\/a> began after the two sides set an interim agreement on ending the conflict and ships resumed transporting oil through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>. <\/p>\n However, the United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran<\/a> into Monday morning over an Iranian attack on a container ship in the strait that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing over the weekend. Iran retaliated by targeting countries across the Middle East. <\/p>\n In Asian share trading, Tokyo\u2019s Nikkei 225 index lost 1.9% to 67,242.73, while in Seoul, the Kospi declined 9% to 6,806.93. It\u2019s now at its lowest level since early May. <\/p>\n Shares in South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix, which soared 13% in their debut Friday on Wall Street, slumped 15.4% in Seoul. Its bigger rival Samsung Electronics sank 10.7%. <\/p>\n Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng edged 0.2% higher, to 24,212.36, and the Shanghai Composite index shed 2.1% to 3,913.79. <\/p>\n In Australia, the S&P\/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,808.50. <\/p>\n U.S. stocks ticked higher Friday after investors showed sustained appetite<\/a> for winners of the artificial-intelligence<\/a> boom. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.3%. <\/p>\n SK Hynix\u2019s shares jumped immediately after trading began in the midday hours after it raised roughly $26.5 billion by selling American depositary shares at a price of $149 each.<\/p>\n SK Hynix\u2019s stock in Seoul had already surged more than 600% over the last year thanks to euphoria around AI. The boom has created real profits due to surging demand for computer memory. But it has also raised worries<\/a> that AI stock prices have shot have too high and that all the world\u2019s spending on chips and data centers won\u2019t be able to produce enough productivity and profit growth to make it worth it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n Sign up for Morning Wire:<\/strong> \u201cThe reason why this stock, along with other memory chipmakers, has gone parabolic is that AI demand has somehow created the perception that a sector historically defined by boom-and-bust cycles could remain permanently in the boom phase,\u201d Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary.<\/p>\n SK Hynix plans to double its production capacity, or possibly more, to keep up with demand. However, \u201cTechnological breakthroughs, more efficient AI models or simply a slowdown in AI infrastructure investment could quickly turn the market into one of oversupply,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Similar concerns apply to many AI stocks as they\u2019ve grown into some of Wall Street\u2019s most influential because of their huge valuations. Beyond that, investors will be focusing on earnings reports, watching to see if corporate profits are growing fast enough to justify big gains in stock prices, which are broadly near records. <\/p>\n This week will bring earnings reports from many of the biggest U.S. banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo on Tuesday alone. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, worries about how continued fighting with Iran will affect the global flow of crude are clouding the outlook both for energy costs and overall inflation. <\/p>\n High bond yields<\/a> have been weighing on financial markets worldwide since more expensive oil and high inflation<\/a> could push the Federal Reserve<\/a> and other central banks to raise interest rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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