Asian benchmarks mostly rise after Wall Street’s rally
Sep 21, 2026, 8:31 PM
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Credit: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose early Tuesday, as the market mood turned positive from the overnight rally on Wall Street.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 02% in early trading to 8,748.20. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.6% to 7,120.25. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained nearly 0.6% to 25,185.26, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% to 3,964.45. Tokyo markets were closed for an extended holiday and trading resumes Thursday.
Wall Street climbed to the edge of its all-time high Monday. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5% and pulled within 0.4% of its record set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 366 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite leaped 2.3% to its own all-time high as chip stocks and other companies in the artificial-intelligence industry led the way.
Stocks have been getting help from the recent decline in oil prices, although they rose in Asian trading. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 0.43% to $96.19 a barrel. Brent, the international standard, rose 0.65% to $100.99 a barrel.
That’s still much higher than its roughly $72 price from earlier this summer, but it’s down from the nearly $110 it touched last week.
Oil prices have been swinging as some crude passed through the Strait of Hormuz to get to customers, though nowhere near as much as the industry would like because of conflicts in the Middle East.
Monday’s pullback in oil prices helped lower the pressure coming from the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.95% from 5.01% late Friday after crossing above the 5% threshold last week for the first time since 2023.
Global markets are also getting a boost recently from AI stocks, which are continuing to strengthen following their worldwide slide at the start of last week. Leaders of the industry have recently warned a slowdown is needed in the industry’s development for the safety of humanity.
All told, on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 114.20 points to 7,764.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 366.19 to 52,048.83, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 599.55 to 27,122.09.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 157.43 Japanese yen from 157.31 yen. The euro cost $1.1474. up from $1.1469.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
