Oil crash lifts equities on Middle East pause

Japan's Nikkei 225, the benchmark of 225 large-cap Tokyo stocks, rose 0.66% to close at 64,931.19, gaining 320.04 points. A ceasefire pause between the US and Iran eased Middle East risk and lifted oil prices, spurring gains in real estate, banking and textile shares. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones by a 2,836-to-682 margin, signaling broad risk-on sentiment across the market. (via Investing.com)

South Korea's KOSPI, Seoul's main index, ended at 6,755.75, up 1% (65.13 points), after a volatile session that saw foreign investors net-sell 3 trillion won. Naver surged 10% after Nvidia said it would acquire a 4.5% stake for $1 billion to fund a Korean AI data center expansion to 200 megawatts, tripling the initially planned 55-megawatt deployment. The rally reversed early losses as retail and institutional investors stepped in, and semiconductor stocks rebounded after their prior week's beatdown. (via The Korea Herald)

Nvidia's Seoul bet. Nvidia's $1 billion investment in Naver aims to help finance an AI factory currently under construction, with Brookfield Asset Management proposing up to $9 billion for the full infrastructure build-out. The 200-megawatt Nvidia DSX-powered facility at Naver's GAK Sejong data center will serve emerging AI companies. (via Evertiq)

China's Shanghai Composite, the main gauge of Shanghai-listed shares, rose 1.15% to 3,858.25 points, while the blue-chip CSI 300 gained on broad gains in emerging-tech sectors. Brain-computer interface, electronic chemicals and electronic components were among the day's biggest gainers, though the oil and gas sector lagged. The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 2.72% and specialized indices like the ChiNext and STAR Composite surged 3.16% and 2.49% respectively, signaling strong demand for high-tech and AI-related shares. (via Xinhua)

Europe's STOXX 600, a 600-company gauge spanning 17 countries, ended little changed at 644.52 points after touching its highest level since July 7. ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment giant, plunged 8.4% on news that China has begun manufacturing domestically developed lithography machines, technology long dominated by ASML. The selloff rippled across the sector, with ASM International down 7.1% and BE Semiconductor off 9.7%, and the tech index fell 1.7% overall. Easing tensions in the Middle East and tumbling oil prices had fueled early gains, but chipmaker declines stifled the rally. (via MarketScreener)

Britain's FTSE 100, the index of London's 100 largest listed companies, rose 0.42% (45.52 points) to 10,781.75. Oil's sharp retreat as US-Iran strikes paused provided relief to energy-sensitive names and the broader market, while AstraZeneca posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings with core EPS up 21% to $2.63, beating analyst forecasts. Vodafone lifted guidance on the strength of its operational performance. (via Yahoo Finance)

Germany's DAX 40 rose 1.04% (262.03 points) to 25,361.03, outpacing France's CAC 40, which added 0.40% (33.78 points) to 8,406.06. Both indices drew support from crude oil's 8%-plus plunge as the US and Iran halted military strikes, easing supply-chain concerns and inflation worries. However, semiconductor weakness—particularly ASML's sharp decline in Amsterdam—limited European gains as investors reassessed the tech sector's valuation after weeks of AI-spending concerns. (via Yahoo Finance)

Wall Street's S&P 500 closed nearly flat, up 0.02% to 7,413.18, as a broad rally fizzled in the face of semiconductor losses. Oil's 8% slide—Brent fell to $87.94 and WTI to $82.22—lifted defensive energy and industrial shares as US-Iran strike tensions paused, but chip stocks slumped after China's ChangXin Memory Technologies soared 500% in its $8.6 billion Shanghai IPO debut. Investors shifted between growth and value names throughout the session, leaving the index little changed. (via The Motley Fool)

Memory sector shock. China's CXMT soared to become mainland's most valuable company with a $540 billion valuation, dragging global memory makers lower. SanDisk fell 12% to $1,270, Micron dropped 5%, and SK Hynix slid 8% as investors worried CXMT could expand DRAM share from 8% to 18% by 2028 and eventually threaten other storage segments. Apple is reportedly testing CXMT's chips. (via Yahoo Finance)

Apple tops Nvidia. Apple surged 0.96% to $336.22 per share, pushing its market cap to $4.94 trillion, narrowly passing Nvidia's $4.87 trillion after Nvidia fell 5% to $201.38. Apple's gain and Nvidia's decline reflected investor concerns that the AI capex boom may be peaking, favoring the iPhone maker's steadier cash generation. (via Yahoo Finance)

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.18% to 24,932.08, extending the selloff in semiconductor stocks that has troubled the index since Alphabet's soft guidance rekindled spending concerns a week earlier. China's CXMT IPO triggered rapid selling in memory and chip names, overwhelmed any lift from AI and cloud software names recovering on hopes that the worst of the correction was over. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index posted its third consecutive session of declines. (via The Motley Fool)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, 30 blue-chip US names, rose 0.51% (262.83 points) to 52,210.08, carving a path independent of the Nasdaq's tech troubles. Crude oil's plunge—WTI fell 7.94% and Brent 9.13%—as the US and Iran halted strikes after 13 nights of military exchanges benefited industrial and energy-heavy Dow names over the semiconductor-laden Nasdaq. The divergence underscored investor rotation into steadier value stocks on fears that artificial intelligence's capital expenditure cycle may be moderating. (via The Motley Fool)