Asian shares track Wall Street gains, while oil prices bounce higher
[August 10, 2026] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly higher Monday in Asia, with Japan’s
Nikkei 225 leading advances after stocks rose on Wall Street.
Oil prices rose and U.S. futures were little changed.
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.1% to 66,970.22, pulled
higher by strong gains for technology companies.
Computer chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron climbed 4.1%, while chip
testing device maker Advantest rose 6.4%.
In South Korea, the gains were more modest, as the Kospi added 0.7% to
6,299.66 as shares in major chipmakers slipped. Samsung Electronics lost
0.4%, while its smaller rival, memory chipmaker SK Hynix, lost 0.1%.
Analysts said foreign investors were selling shares in the Big Tech
companies to lock in profits from recent gains and rebalance holdings
into other industries, such as defense contractors.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9% to 25,904.94, while the Shanghai
Composite index picked up 0.7% to 3,966.59.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 9,232.60.
Taiwan's Taiex surged 1.6% and the Sensex in India was up 0.2%.
Oil prices rose after Israel rejected a deal announced by U.S. President
Donald Trump for Gaza. Details emerged on the potential deal between
Iran and Oman on managing the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran suggested that
vessels linked to “hostile countries” would be barred.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a government-held
port on the country’s Red Sea coast, deepening fears over threats to
strategic shipping routes and a potential return to civil war.
Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.6% to $84.01 per
barrel. U.S. benchmark crude advanced 0.3% to $78.46 per barrel.
“Negotiators said that a deal to establish a safe shipping route was
close, but Iran may now be exploring just how much it can extract from
the U.S. in return,” Bas van Geffen, senior macro strategist for
Rabobank, said in a commentary.
On Friday, U.S. stocks rose and Treasury yields fell after the
government reported that employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs last
month.
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A currency trader talks on the phone at the foreign exchange dealing
room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday,
Aug. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 A weaker jobs market raised hopes
the Federal Reserve might wait longer before raising interest rates
to fight inflation. That buoyed share prices, pushing every major
index to a second straight week of gains and several fresh records.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 7,757.64, topping an all-time high. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 54,036.93, just short of the
record it set on Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.3% to
26,690.62.
Overall, the jobs report dimmed one of the brighter areas of the
economy, adding to worries about household spending at a time of
high inflation. It included a revision to the figures for June and
May that involved slashing a combined 103,000 jobs from payrolls for
those months.
Slowing employment complicates the Fed's effort to balance job
growth with fighting inflation. Higher interest rates can help tame
inflation by slowing economic growth, but businesses will find it
more difficult to expand under increased borrowing rates.
As usual, technology stocks did much of the heavy lifting for the
broader market. Nvidia jumped 2.3% and Broadcom rose 1.7%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.64% from 4.67% just
before the jobs update. It was as low as 4.60% before recovering a
bit.
The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks
expectations for Fed action on interest rates, fell to 4.20% from
4.22% before the report's release. It was as low as 4.15% before
edging back up.
This week, investors will get several important inflation updates.
The most closely watched will be the consumer price index, or CPI,
which measures costs for consumers. Inflation in July is forecast to
have risen at a 3.4% rate, easing slightly from 3.5% in June.
Inflation has held stubbornly above 3% for most of the year.
In other dealings early Monday, the U.S. dollar rose to 158.45
Japanese yen from 157.71 yen. The euro fell to $1.1557 from $1.1568.
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