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Stocks rally as fears of Iran conflict escalation ease

Easing fears of further US attacks on Iran helped lift US and European shares on Monday, while renewed demand for chip stocks carried the rally into Asia on Tuesday. Oil extended its decline as investors assessed the prospects for diplomatic progress, with attention turning to Tuesday’s US inflation release for clues about a potential Federal Reserve (Fed) rate increase in December.

  • Date
  • Author Shane Strowmatt, Senior Investment Writer
  • Reading time 5 minutes

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Asian stocks rally as chipmakers recover

Asian equities rose on Tuesday, with Korea’s KOSPI advancing 4.4% and Japan’s Nikkei climbing 2.8% as technology stocks recovered following Wall Street’s strongest rally in around seven months. Memory chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics gained 7.2% and 4.5%, respectively. Brent crude oil futures fell a further 1.7% to USD 91.00 per barrel after dropping nearly 6% on Monday, as US President Donald Trump’s comments reduced fears of renewed attacks on Iran and eased inflation concerns. Gold declined 0.4% to around USD 4120 per ounce. US Treasury yields moved higher, with the two-year yield at 4.5% and the ten-year yield at 4.9%, as investors awaited US inflation figures due on Tuesday while weighing the possibility of a Fed interest rate increase in December that was not yet fully reflected in market pricing.

China’s imports surge as trade surplus narrows

China’s imports increased 41.6% year-on-year in October, accelerating from 31% in September and exceeding expectations, according to customs figures released on Tuesday. Export growth slowed to 35.2% from 36.3% but also surpassed forecasts, supported by demand for chips and other artificial intelligence-related hardware. Stronger imports reflected demand for technology products, copper and energy supplies, helping narrow the monthly trade surplus to USD 105.3 billion, its lowest level since April. The cumulative surplus nevertheless reached USD 1.04 trillion, compared with USD 1.2 trillion for the whole of 2025, highlighting persistent economic imbalances as household consumption remained weak. Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.1% on Tuesday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.5%.

US stocks rebound despite Nvidia losses

US equities rallied on Monday as oil prices declined after US President Donald Trump said further major US strikes against Iran were highly unlikely. The Dow Jones rose 2.2% to 52,389.75 points, the S&P 500 gained 2.4% to 7549.94 points and the Nasdaq-100 advanced 3.4% to 27,907.63 points, supported by strong semiconductor stocks. Chipmaker Nvidia fell 4.3% amid concerns about chief executive Jensen Huang’s future following media allegations of an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, which China denied.

European stocks rise as oil prices fall

European equities advanced on Monday, with the Euro Stoxx 50 gaining 2.1% as hopes of progress in US-Iran negotiations drove oil prices lower and lifted investor sentiment. Germany’s DAX rose 1.7% to 26,267.19 points, France’s CAC 40 gained 1.2%, while Switzerland’s SMI gained 1% to 14,946.15 points. Technology stocks recovered, including German chipmakers Infineon and Elmos, which gained 6.3% and 5.6%, respectively, while Swiss engineering group ABB rose 2.4% and pharmaceutical company Roche advanced 2.8%.

Corporate and economic calendar

Corporate news in focus: Quarterly figures from Infineon and SoftBank Group.

Economic data in focus: French unemployment rate (07:30), US Consumer Price Index (14:30), Bank of Canada monetary policy meeting minutes (19:30).

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