Most Gulf bourses in red
Most Gulf stock markets ended lower on Thursday as investors awaited clarity on restoration of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while reports of attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden heightened concerns.
Iran and Oman have agreed on coordinates for a shipping route through the Strait, with a joint announcement expected soon, Iran said, unless outside parties intervene.
The move coincides with a proposed Iran-Oman framework that, according to Reuters sources, would give Tehran control over vessels entering the Gulf — a major concession over a vital global energy corridor.
While President Trump has said a deal to reopen the key waterway is near, U.S. officials have ruled out accepting Iranian control. Tehran has also warned Gulf states that any new U.S. strike would trigger attacks on critical regional energy infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark declined 0.7 percent, weighed down by a 4.1 percent slide in ACWA Power Co and a 0.7 percent drop in Al Rajhi Bank. Oil major Saudi Aramco declined 0.9 percent.
South Korean stocks log seventh straight weekly loss
South Korean shares slipped on Friday and recorded their seventh straight weekly loss, as investor worries over the AI trade and wild swings in chip stocks kept sentiment fragile.
The benchmark KOSPI index jumped almost 2 percent within the first few minutes of trading before reversing course to decline as much as 2.2 percent during the session, reflecting the ever-shifting and fragile sentiment towards AI-linked stocks. The index ended 0.6 percent lower at 6,258.77.
It declined more than 5 percent for the week to post its longest streak of weekly losses since December 2022.
Indian stocks on track
Indian shares are expected to open steady on Friday as investors track developments in the Middle East, while quarterly earnings are likely to drive stock-specific moves.
GIFT Nifty futures were at ,653 points, as of 7:50 a.m. IST, indicating a muted start for the Nifty 50, which closed at 24,636 on Thursday.
Brent crude futures rose for a third consecutive session, climbing above $83 a barrel on concerns over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran, working with Oman, proposed restrictions on vessels deemed hostile.
Higher oil prices are negative for India, which imports a bulk of its crude requirements.
The Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex indexes have gained more than 1 percent each this week, setting the stage for a second consecutive weekly climb.
S&P 500 struggles for direction
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 struggled for direction in choppy trading on Thursday as investors took a breather from a record-breaking rally earlier this week and awaited any signs of a peace deal in the Middle East.
Chip stocks shrugged off earlier losses and traded mostly higher, building on a rebound from late last week that sent the S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow to record highs, as strong earnings from tech leaders renewed investor confidence in the AI trade.
Marvell, Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices gained about 2 percent each and aided a 1.8 percent rise in the broader Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Limiting gains, data storage company Western Digital lost 9.6 percent and memory chip maker Sandisk dropped 3.5 percent, after having shot up 200 percent and 400 percent this year. Both stocks, however, were trading off session lows. The companies forecast quarterly revenue above expectations, betting on strong AI-driven demand.
“There are just incredible expectations and chips have done so well this year through June so there’s just some digestion going on in the market,” said Hank Smith, director and head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust.
Software stocks such as Atlassian, Dow component Salesforce, Adobe and Zscaler were down sharply following earnings reports from a few companies in the sector.
Sri Lankan stocks close higher
Sri Lankan shares closed higher on Thursday, led by information technology and energy stocks.
The CSE All Share index settled up 0.49 percent at 21,269.67.
Bogawantalawa Tea Estates PLC and Hapugastenne Plantations PLC were the top percentage gainers on the CSE All Share index, rising 13.08 percent and 9.13 percent, respectively.
Trading volume on the CSE All Share index rose to 231.1 million shares from 82.3 million in the previous session.
The equity market’s turnover rose to 12.24 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($36.5 million) from 8.48 billion rupees in the previous session, according to exchange data.
Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading stocks worth 9.09 billion rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth 11.12 billion rupees, the data showed.
Australian stocks hit record high
Australian shares rose to a record high on Thursday, underpinned by heavyweight miners, as risk appetite remained buoyant on prospects of a US-Iran peace deal that could end the five-month-long war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.7 percent at 9,291.30 points, as of 1226 GMT.
The benchmark climbed nearly 1 percent on Wednesday to touch an all-time-high closing level.
US President Donald Trump said there was an “all-day negotiation” on Tuesday with Iran, characterizing the talks positively, which triggered a further fall in US Treasury yields and kept global oil prices pinned below recent highs.
On the bourse, Australian miners jumped 2.2 percent to their highest level since June 19. Heavyweights Rio Tinto, Fortescue and BHP added between 1 percent and 1.4 percent, as copper prices hit a three-month high and iron ore futures broke a declining streak the previous day.
Separately, Swiss mining giant Glencore said on Wednesday it would seek a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange, targeting admission in October.
If approved, the move would further increase the benchmark index’s already heavy weighting towards mining stocks.