Asia shares mixed as oil drops 3.3% on Strait of Hormuz talk

Oil prices fell more than 3% on Monday as Asian stock markets showed mixed results. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped 3.3% to $109.66 per barrel. U.S. crude prices also fell 3.3%, reaching $100.64 per barrel.

The decline in oil follows comments from Iran’s top diplomat. He stated in a weekend interview that Iranian negotiators are in Qatar discussing a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He said this could happen within two days if the United States meets certain conditions, though no direct talks with U.S. officials were underway.

In Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 in Japan slipped 0.1% to 63,218.02 after giving up early gains. SoftBank Group shares fell 1.8%, and Kioxia Holdings dropped approximately 14% after its earnings forecasts disappointed investors. Conversely, South Korea’s Kospi index rose 2.3% to 5,859.83. Samsung Electronics added 1.7%, and SK Hynix jumped 4.2%.

Technology stocks have been volatile due to growing concerns that the artificial intelligence investment boom may be a bubble. Last week, earnings reports from Alphabet Inc. and Amazon shook markets and raised questions about the profitability of their massive AI spending. Apple is scheduled to report its latest earnings later on Monday.

In the past month, the Nikkei 225 has fallen more than 6%, while the Kospi has dropped more than 16%. In China, the Shanghai Composite index rose 1.2% to 3,640.93, despite reports that factory activity returned to contraction territory in October. Chinese media reported that the country’s central bank and securities regulatory body are meeting with financial institutions on Monday to discuss supporting the capital market. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 0.6% to 23,437.41, while Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.2%.

Other regional indices showed varied performance. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6% to 8,851.40, and India’s Sensex rose 1.1%. The U.S. dollar strengthened to 157.91 Japanese yen from 157.49 yen, and the euro traded at $1.1172, up from $1.1160.

Investors are closely watching Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections. Voters have expressed concern about AI, data centers, and inflation. Friday’s session on Wall Street saw the S&P 500 fall 1.8%, the Nasdaq composite decline 2.9%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slide 1.1%, marking the worst day for Wall Street since June.