Investing.com– Asian stocks pared early gains on Wednesday as escalating Middle East tensions pushed oil prices to six-week highs, weighing on risk appetite ahead of quarterly earnings from major U.S. technology companies
U.S. stock index futures turned on Wednesday by 03:13 ET, with tech-heavy Nasdaq leading losses.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to snap a three-session losing streak, while the gained 1.3% and the rose 0.7%
Investors were cautious ahead of quarterly earnings from Alphabet () and Tesla (), due later on Wednesday.
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erases gains, Nikkei falls after oil surge
South Korea’s KOSPI closed 0.7% higher after jumping over 5% in early trading, with chipmakers Samsung Electronics () and SK Hynix () moving in line with the trend.
The retreat came as crude prices extended their rally to hit six-week highs after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels threatened to widen the conflict in the Middle East.
rose above $93 a barrel after two tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reportedly reversed course in the Red Sea following Houthi threats.
Japan’s ended 0.4% lower after climbing nearly 2% earlier in the day, while the broader closed 0.5% higher.
In other news, data showed on Wednesday that Japan’s rose 19.3% in June from a year earlier, beating forecasts for an 18.6% increase and marking a tenth straight month of growth, driven by AI-related demand for semiconductor equipment and a weak .
Imports climbed 25.4%, above expectations for a 21% rise, leaving Japan with a trade deficit of 406.9 billion yen as higher crude oil prices inflated import costs.
Traders eye key U.S. tech earnings
In China, the settled largely unchanged, while the blue-chip fell 0.5%.
Hong Kong’s traded 1.1% lower.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.3%, while Singapore’s traded 0.5% higher.
Futures tied to India’s fell 0.8% by midday.
Investors try to assess whether the AI-powered gains in technology stocks could be sustained after major U.S. corporate earnings.
Markets are closely watching results from Alphabet for fresh signals on AI spending, cloud demand and corporate investment trends.
The earlier rebound in equities suggested investors were willing to look beyond geopolitical risks for now, although persistent strength in oil prices could rekindle inflation concerns and complicate the outlook for global central banks.