Asian stocks drop amid AI rally pause with Hormuz deal reached

Published Thu, Aug 6, 2026 · 10:08 AM

ASIAN stocks slipped on Thursday (Aug 6) after a recent tech-led rally on Wall Street paused. Crude oil edged lower as Iran reached an agreement with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.2 per cent, with South Korea’s Kospi Index falling 1 per cent. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index pulled back from a record high while an index of semiconductor stocks lost more than 1 per cent, even as Nvidia advanced.

Among the main moves across markets, S&P 500 futures rose 0.2 per cent as at 9.02 am Tokyo time. Hang Seng futures fell 0.9 per cent, Japan’s Topix was little changed and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2 per cent.

SpaceX tumbled 14 per cent despite strong earnings, ahead of the release of about US$101 billion of shares for trading on Thursday.

Sentiment improved in early Asian trading, with S&P 500 Index futures rising 0.1 per cent. However, a cautious tone lingered as memory makers Sandisk slid 7.5 per cent and Western Digital plunged 11 per cent in post-market trading after reporting earnings.

US crude edged lower on Thursday after Iran said it had reached an agreement with Oman on a proposed shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, a potential step toward reopening the critical waterway.

West Texas Intermediate fell 0.4 per cent to below US$75 per barrel. The US dollar held its losses from the previous session, while gold hovered around US$4,270 an ounce after posting its biggest gain since February.

Wednesday’s pause in the US stock rally came as investors reassessed valuations after AI-related shares rebounded sharply from July’s bruising sell-off, which hit several hedge funds.

Traders are now focused on developments in the Middle East for clues on the direction of oil prices, with knock-on effects for inflation and central bank policy.

“Artificial intelligence-related results and commentary have sparked some profit taking,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist and portfolio manager at SIA Wealth Management.

Meanwhile, Treasury yields were little changed on Wednesday after data showed the US services sector expanded at a steady pace in July, even as higher costs for labour and materials continued to weigh on businesses.

Hiring slowed, with companies adding fewer workers than expected.

If Friday’s monthly payrolls report confirms signs of a cooling labour market, it may give US Federal Reserve officials room to keep their focus on stubborn inflation, rather than employment.

Even so, policymakers continued to signal they are prepared to tighten policy further if price pressures persist.

Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari told CNBC the central bank should begin raising interest rates incrementally now, while governor Lisa Cook said she was prepared to act if inflation failed to keep slowing.

“If I do not see signs of continued disinflation soon, I am prepared to act,” Cook said on Wednesday in a speech at an event in Alaska.

“With five years of above-target inflation, the risk grows that higher inflation may become entrenched in price- and wage-setting behaviour, leading to persistence that would be much harder for us to attack.” BLOOMBERG