New Age | Oil jumps, global stocks mostly rise
Stock markets mostly rose Friday with traders relieved by the tech sector holding firm despite concerns over massive AI investments.
Oil prices jumped almost two per cent as Iran said that in order to reach a deal, the United States will have to drop its ‘excessive demands’, tempering the optimism expressed after talks seen as a last-ditch bid to avert war.
Brent North Sea Crude went up by 1.8 per cent to reach $72.11 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate went up by 1.9 per cent to reach $66.46 per barrel.
The Oman-mediated talks follow repeated threats from president Donald Trump to strike Iran, and with the United States conducting its biggest military build-up in the region in decades.
Trump on February 19 gave Iran 15 days to reach a deal, and while Iran has insisted the discussions focus solely on its nuclear programme, the US wants Tehran’s missile programme and its support for militant groups curtailed.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Trump’s negotiating team would demand that Iran dismantle its three main nuclear sites and hand over all its remaining enriched uranium to the United States.
‘For oil prices, we have seen significant fluctuations as traders weigh up the likeliness of a conflict,’ said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets. Indices across Asia and Europe were mainly in the green despite Wall Street’s Nasdaq losing more than one per cent Thursday.
‘European markets continue to show their resilience, with indices throughout the region continuing to gain ground in the face of US tech-led losses,’ noted Mahony.
Nvidia’s share price slumped 5.5 per cent Thursday despite the chip giant announcing that its quarterly profits more than doubled to $43 billion.
‘Market expectations were already very elevated and part of the positive results had been priced in,’ said City Index analyst Julian Pineda.
‘There are also concerns related to stretched valuations and Nvidia’s dependence on capital spending by large technology companies investing in AI infrastructure.
‘If the pace of AI investment moderates due to cost optimisation efforts, it could indirectly affect Nvidia’s growth outlook,’ Pineda added.
