Stocks Rebound as Oil Falls on US-Iran Peace Hopes

Asian shares were mixed on November 2, with gains in South Korea, Hong Kong and Shanghai offset by declines in Japan, Taiwan and Australia. Japan’s Nikkei slipped as SoftBank and memory-chip maker Kioxia fell, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced, supported by gains in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Technology shares remained volatile as investors weighed whether heavy investment in artificial intelligence will produce sufficient returns. Results from Alphabet and Amazon had raised questions about the pace of returns from their AI spending. Apple was due to release earnings after the close, while investors also awaited results from AMD later in the week.

Wall Street’s main indexes rose in midday trading after steep losses on Friday. The Dow gained 566 points, or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each added 0.6%. Nvidia and Amazon advanced, but Oracle dropped after filings showed intentions to secure $20 billion using borrowing and a stock offering. Intel also fell after forecasting quarterly revenue below market expectations and saying it did not expect positive cash flow this year.

Oil prices tumbled more than 7%, with Brent crude reaching a near two-week low. The decline followed reports that Iranian negotiators were in Qatar discussing an idea that might allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to resume within 48 hours, provided Washington accepted several terms. Iran’s top diplomat said there were no direct talks with the US. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s supreme leader had given the government some latitude in peace negotiations.

Investors were also watching Tuesday’s US midterm elections and a busy week of earnings. US manufacturing activity picked up in October, data showed, amid solid domestic demand.