Asian shares trade mixed after Wall Street rally despite Iran war
worries
[May 12, 2026] By
YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares traded mixed Tuesday as optimism encouraged by
a record rally on Wall Street clashed with anxiety about surging oil
prices and a possible AI bubble.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.6% to 62,828.07. South Korea's
Kospi dropped 2.7% to 7,610.10, in what analysts are categorizing as
fallout from overreliance on fraying AI hopes.
“Global equities remain dangerously dependent on a tiny cluster of AI
leaders, creating a rally structure that looks powerful on the surface
but increasingly fragile underneath,” said Stephen Innes, analyst with
SPI Asset Management.
He believes South Korea may be among the first major economies that will
undergo what he called "the political redistribution phase of the AI
boom.”
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.4% to 8,670.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng
lost earlier gains and fell less than 0.1% to 26,395.36, while the
Shanghai Composite lost 0.4% to 4,210.44.
Oil prices continued to rise, as the war with Iran threatened to drag
on. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.57 to $99.64 a barrel. Brent crude, the
international standard, climbed $1.30 to $105.51 a barrel.
U.S. President Donald Trump described the U.S.-Iran ceasefire as on
“life support” after rejecting Iran’s latest proposal to end the war.
That raises the stakes for Trump’s trip this week to China. China is the
biggest buyer of Iran’s sanctioned crude oil.
The war has already sent the price for a barrel of Brent racing up from
prewar levels of roughly $70 and delivered inflation through the global
economy. The war has shut the Strait of Hormuz and kept oil tankers
stuck in the Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude to customers
worldwide.
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Currency traders react near a screen showing the Korea Composite
Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, at the foreign exchange dealing
room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday,
May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 Still, some companies are reporting
bigger profit than analysts expected, which means the U.S. economy
is holding up even though households are feeling discouraged by
expensive gasoline and tariffs.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% from its prior all-time high
set Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 95 points, or
0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to reach its own all-time
high.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 13.91 points to 7,412.84. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 95.31 to 49,704.47, and the Nasdaq
composite gained 27.05 to 26,274.13.
In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher. The 10-year yield
rose to 4.40% from 4.38% late Friday.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 157.43 Japanese yen
from 157.12 yen. The euro cost $1.1754, down from $1.1787.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
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