Stocks in Asia trade mixed on Tuesday amid mild gains in Wall Street overnight from tech push, following the announcement of OpenAI and AWS deal and Microsoft’s investment in UAE.
The Hang Seng Index (HSI) showed a positive move, gaining +0.27% to 26,228.01 points. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite also edged up, adding +0.05% or +2.452 points to 3,978.673. Japan’s market was virtually flat, with the Nikkei gaining a negligible +0.01% to 52,416.02 points. Conversely, the ASX 200 in Australia dropped by -0.74% or -65.70 points to 8,829.10, making it the biggest decliner shown. India’s Nifty 50 was reported as unchanged at 25,763.35 points.
U.S. stock indices delivered mixed results overnight, with technology shares driving the Nasdaq up 0.46%. The S&P 500 registered a modest 0.17% gain, in contrast to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which slipped 0.48%.
Microsoft revealed plans on Monday to increase its cumulative investment in the United Arab Emirates to $15 billion by 2029, according to statements from a senior company executive cited by Reuters.
The tech giant confirmed it has obtained the necessary export licenses to supply Nvidia chips to its data center operations in the UAE, a strategic move expected to further the region’s aspirations to become a leader in artificial intelligence.
The decision came after Microsoft received the green light from the Trump administration to proceed with the export of these advanced processors to the Gulf nation, as reported by Reuters.
Following the announcement, Nvidia stock surged by 2.17%, while Microsoft shares edged down by 0.17% on Monday.
Crude prices remained largely unchanged on Monday as traders weighed an increase in OPEC+ supply against the coalition’s announcement to pause output hikes in the first quarter of 2026. This stasis came alongside ongoing concerns over a potential oil surplus and softer manufacturing activity across Asia.
Brent crude futures inched higher by 12 cents, or 0.2%, closing at $64.89 a barrel. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advanced 7 cents, or 0.1%, to finish at $61.05 a barrel.
Gold prices were steady entering the week, hovering close to $4,000 per ounce. Investors focused on upcoming U.S. private payroll data to help gauge the likelihood of further interest rate reductions from the Federal Reserve this year. Spot gold edged up 0.01% to $4,002.19 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained 0.4%, settling at $4,014.
