The China Mail - Asian equities ahead, oil rises as uncertainty surrounds US-Iran talks

Gains in tech-heavy markets drove investor optimism, despite uncertainty driven by US-Iran negotiations to end the war that has roiled global energy markets since February.

Iran's chief negotiator warned Sunday that Tehran would not trust Washington or agree to any deal unless its rights were fully secured, underlining the gap between the two sides as talks drag on.

Reports that US President Donald Trump had sent back a tougher proposal have further complicated negotiations, raising the risk of delays to any agreement to formally end the war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global crude transits in peacetime.

While both sides continue to exchange proposals, key sticking points remain, including Iran's nuclear programme, demands for sanctions relief and the future of shipping through the vital waterway.

The stifled progress has left markets sensitive to developments, with oil prices edging higher as uncertainty around supply flows continue.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by 2.4 percent, while West Texas Intermediate, was up 2.8 percent.

Across Asia, Seoul led the rally jumping by more than 4.0 percent, boosted by continued demand for chipmakers and AI-related firms.

Memory chip giant Samsung Electronics rose by more than 9.0 percent, while rival SK hynix rose by over 2.0 percent.

Taipei, Tokyo, Manila, Wellington and Singapore also advanced.

Hong Kong rose in early trade though mainland Chinese markets lagged, with Shanghai dipping, as caution over the domestic outlook could have tempered buying.

May factory activity for China was flat at 50.0 after two months of expansion, according to official data released on Sunday.

Sydney and Kuala Lumpur were down.

Analysts said the resilience of equities despite geopolitical uncertainty demonstrated how dominant the AI-driven investment cycle remained.

"Investors continue to embrace the AI boom while assigning a higher probability to an eventual agreement between Washington and Tehran," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management wrote in a commentary.

"The reason is simple. Artificial intelligence remains the dominant engine of market psychology, and as long as Washington and Tehran continue to exchange draft proposals rather than missiles, investors appear willing to give diplomacy the benefit of the doubt," he added.

Attention remains on incoming US data and central bank signals this week.

Investors would also be looking to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's keynote speech at Taipei's Computex chip summit.

Huang "will set the tone today, with a typical upbeat and highly positive outlook set to go down", Chris Weston of Pepperstone said.

"Traders will closely scrutinise any updates relating to demand, product innovations, supply chains and infrastructure buildouts impacting what is already a super-hot space," he added.

- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.48 percent at $93.38 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.88 percent at $89.88 a barrel

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 25,452.47

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 67,020.75

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 4,084.46

Euro/dollar: DOWN at 1.1645 from $1.1663 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3455 from $1.3464

Dollar/yen: UP at 159.48 from 159.27 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN 86.55 at from 86.63 pence

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 10,416.07 (close)

New York - DOW: UP 0.7 percent at 51,032.46 points (close)

O.Yip--ThChM