Asian stocks decline, oil prices gain as US hits Iran

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5% as selling in technology stocks resumed after a rebound on Tuesday. The Kospi Index in South Korea, a bellwether for artificial intelligence investments, dropped 1.7%. The Nikkei in Japan also declined.

Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 indexes were little changed after the Wall Street benchmarks had a volatile session on Tuesday, with chip stocks coming under pressure. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1% as investors continued rotating out of tech shares that have driven much of this year’s rally.

Weighing on the sentiment, Brent crude rose 0.8% to $92.15 a barrel after US forces hit Iran following the downing of an American helicopter. The dollar, the haven of choice since the Middle East conflict started, strengthened against all its Group-of-10 peers as the attacks threatened the fragile ceasefire as well as efforts to secure a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Increasing volatility is testing a market that has surged to record highs on optimism about easing geopolitical tensions and the artificial intelligence buildout. With strong US jobs data damping expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts, investors now face a key test on Wednesday with the release of US inflation data, which may offer fresh clues on whether policymakers will keep rates higher for longer.

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“Exuberance has been building for months, pushing stocks to one record after the next,” said John Cunnison, chief investment officer at Baker Boyer Bank. “So anything perceived to be negative for equities — from higher inflation to even the potential for rate hikes — will knock the market off its footing after a historic run.”

The retreat in technology shares on Wall Street coincided with a broadening rally across the rest of the market, as nine of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors advanced Tuesday. Defensive corners led the gains, with real estate climbing 2.1%, health care rising 1.3% and utilities adding 1.1%. Tech and energy were the lone decliners.The rotation offered a contrast to a rally that has been increasingly concentrated in a handful of technology giants.

“As much as we love to see tech’s leadership, it would be constructive to see this rally broaden out to other sectors,” said Bret Kenwell at eToro. “When leadership is concentrated in one corner of tech, the market’s foundation gets a little wobblier.”

In other corners of the market, the yen hovered near its weakest level since April, keeping traders on alert for possible intervention by Japanese authorities to support the currency. Gold dropped 1% to about $4,220 an ounce.

Attention now turns to Wednesday’s US inflation report. While oil has retreated from multiyear highs reached in April, strong US jobs data last week has increased bets that the Fed will need to raise interest rates.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect annual CPI inflation to accelerate to 4.2% in May from 3.8% a month earlier. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, is projected to edge up to 2.9% from 2.8%.

“The combination of stronger payrolls and uncomfortably elevated inflation has left markets penciling in higher odds of the Fed having to tighten policy,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, head of US rates strategy at TD Securities. “This has continued to leave yields elevated, though risk-off moves in equities appear to be helping to backstop yields.”