The Japan Times - Stocks mixed as Seoul stabilises, oil prices rise with eyes on Mideast

South Korea's Kospi swung between gains and losses, with chip giants SK hynix and Samsung -- which have been the poster boys of a month-long AI-themed rout -- centre of attention again.

The gains followed a positive day in New York, where the Dow ended at an all-time high, helped by another impressive Amazon surge that pushed it past the $3 trillion market capitalisation and helped ease fears about the vast capital spending on artificial intelligence.

Seoul's stocks fluctuated through the morning. Last week the Kospi fell around 17 percent in three days before soaring nearly 18 percent Friday and falling again Monday.

Elsewhere, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Jakarta and Manila rose, though Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai dipped.

And after the past month's wild volatility, some analysts are more upbeat about the outlook, even as some continue to fret.

"Earnings remain supportive, investment in AI infrastructure is still firm, and the US economy appears to be slowing at the margins rather than breaking beneath the surface," wrote SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

"That does not guarantee an uninterrupted move higher, but it gives the rebound a more credible foundation than short covering alone."

Traders are now keeping an eye on earnings from SpaceX this week as well as the release of key US jobs data that could provide a fresh guide for the Federal Reserve as it plots its next move on interest rates.

Oil prices rose around one percent, having plunged five percent Monday, on hopes for a US-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Trump said Monday that negotiations were ongoing despite Tehran's denials.

"This is a last chance for them to sign a good document," he told reporters at the White House. "I want to give them every last chance before decapitation."

The talks are focused on reopening the crucial waterway, which Trump said could come "literally by tomorrow", and the denuclearisation of Iran, which he said could "take a little while".

Iran's foreign ministry denied on Monday that negotiations with Washington were taking place, but Trump insisted they were. "We are talking right now," he said.

Tehran did say it was in talks with Oman to secure passage through the strait, through which a fifth of global oil and LNG pass.

Crude had tumbled Monday after the president backed away from a threatened strike on Iran that he said would have been "the biggest attack since World War II".

On currency markets the yen weakened against the dollar after Friday's rally sparked by a historic joint intervention by Japanese and US authorities, and their finance ministers pledged to support the unit again.

The Japanese unit strengthened from a four-decade low around 163 to the greenback Friday, to 155.23 Monday, its best level since May, before paring the gains.

- Key figures around 0230 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 63,333.35 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 25,864.57

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,802.70

Dollar/yen: UP at 157.53 yen from 156.85 yen on Monday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1508 from $1.1513

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3425 from $1.3433

Euro/pound: UP at 85.72 pence at 85.70 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $81.05 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.0 percent at $84.61 per barrel

New York - DOW: UP 1.3 percent at 53,178.41 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 10,857.70 (close)

T.Kobayashi--JT