The Japan Times - Seoul, Taipei hit records as Asian stocks track Wall St tech rally

While the Middle East crisis continued to rumble along, with the Strait of Hormuz still effectively choked off, dealers turned their focus on the corporate world as they jumped back into the AI trade that has propelled several markets to record highs.

Forecast-beating reports from Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung have reawakened interest in the artificial intelligence sector after the market tumult caused by the US-Israel strikes on Iran at the end of February.

Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report earnings growth of 27.1 percent, the highest rate in more than four years, according to Factset.

Investors have been playing a waiting game since a ceasefire was agreed at the start of April, with just one round of talks taking place that came to nothing.

In the meantime, the United States maintains a blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran is keeping the strait -- through which a fifth of global oil and gas usually passes -- closed.

Optimism was given a boost Friday after an Iranian report that Tehran had delivered the text of a new proposal to mediator Pakistan the night before.

The offer was said by the Tasnim News Agency as calling for a complete end to the conflict within 30 days along with guarantees against renewed strikes.

It also reiterated previous demands that include the withdrawal of US forces from near Iran, the blockade to be lifted and sanctions removed.

Iran's foreign ministry said Tehran had submitted a 14-point plan "focused on ending the war" and that Washington had already responded to it in a message to Pakistani mediators, which Iran was reviewing.

Oil prices fluctuated Monday after dropping on Friday.

Donald Trump said Sunday that "very positive discussions" were underway and that US forces will soon start escorting ships out of the Strait of Hormuz in a a "humanitarian gesture" dubbed "Project Freedom".

In a post on Truth Social, the US president said many of the marooned ships "were running low on food", but offered few details on how the mission would work.

US Central Command said on X that its forces would begin supporting Project Freedom with guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms and 15,000 service members.

However, a senior Iranian official warned Monday that Tehran would consider any US attempt to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz a breach of the ongoing ceasefire.

"Whether this will lead to sustained weakness in oil remains to be seen," wrote Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com.

"In my view, as long as the Strait of Hormuz situation remains unresolved, these types of headlines are likely to provide only temporary pressure on prices rather than drive a prolonged move lower."

Equities started the month on a broadly positive note, following all-time highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in New York on Friday.

Seoul and Taipei jumped more than four percent to hit fresh records.

South Korean chip giant SK hynix was the standout, piling on more than 10 percent, while rival Samsung was up around four percent. Taiwanese counterpart TSMC was almost seven percent up.

Hong Kong also saw strong gains thanks to a surge in Chinese tech firms including Alibaba, while Singapore, Manila and Jakarta were also up.

Tokyo and Shanghai were closed for holidays.

However, Chris Weston at Pepperstone said: "After a strong April for risk assets, we need to remain open-minded about what May will bring.

"This week should provide early signals, but with risk assets pricing in a lot of good news, and rightly so, the time for that to be validated may now be here."

On currency markets, the yen was holding its own against the dollar after a rally on Thursday was said to have come on the back of Japanese intervention.

Officials were said to have spent at least $32 billion in the foreign exchange market, according to multiple reports, in its first such move to prop up the yen since 2024.

- Key figures at around 0300 GMT -

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.9 percent at 26,268.77

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday

Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $101.82 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent to $108.29 a barrel

Dollar/yen: UP at 157.19 yen from 157.06 yen on Friday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1726 from $1.1720

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3586 from $1.3578

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.31 pence from 86.32 pence

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 49,499.27 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 10,363.93 (close)

Y.Hara--JT