GGMA Markets Briefing: Asian Chipmakers Rally on AI Spending as Red Sea Tanker Strikes Lift Oil, ECB in View
Asian equities climbed as regional chipmakers rode a wave of optimism over the artificial-intelligence build-out, after Alphabet lifted its 2026 capital-spending plans to a fresh high and reiterated that next year's outlays would be even higher (BBG). South Korea's Kospi, a bellwether for the AI-investment trade, jumped 3.82%, with Samsung and SK Hynix leading on bets that they will capture a large share of that spending (BBG). US index futures were down slightly, though, with the S&P 500 contract off 0.23% and the Nasdaq-100 off 0.32%, as Alphabet slid more than 3% after hours on cost concerns and Tesla fell around 4% following a profit miss (BBG) (BBG).
Across the Asian region, the risk tone was firm. The Kospi's surge led gains, with Hang Seng up 1.19% and Nikkei 225 futures up 0.38%, while mainland China's CSI 300 was flat and Australia's ASX 200 slipped 0.37% (BBG). The rally sat against a heavier geopolitical backdrop, leaving the advance broad but cautious as European shares were set to open lower ahead of the European Central Bank decision.
Central banks anchor the session. The ECB announces at 14:15 CET and is expected to hold after last month's surprise hike, with attention on whether President Lagarde confirms September as the live meeting (LS). In the United States, the new Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh has scrapped his predecessors' forward guidance, leaving traders split into next week's meeting: swaps put roughly a one-in-three chance on a hike, even as every economist surveyed looks for a hold, with a move fully priced by September as higher oil lifts the inflation risk (BBG). The politics around the Fed sharpened, with Trump allies weighing an external review of Silicon Valley Bank's 2023 failure as a possible path to remove Governor Michael Barr (BBG). In Japan, a majority of economists now expect the Bank of Japan to raise rates again by December as a weak yen revives price pressure (Reuters).
In currencies, the dollar eased, its index down 0.17%, with the euro up 0.21% into the ECB and the Korean won the standout, strengthening 0.66% against the dollar on the Kospi surge (BBG). The yen was the weak point, near its softest in about four decades, pressured by higher oil and rising US yields (Reut
Asian equities climbed as regional chipmakers rode a wave of optimism over the artificial-intelligence build-out, after Alphabet lifted its 2026 capital-spending plans to a fresh high and reiterated that next year's outlays would be even higher (BBG). South Korea's Kospi, a bellwether for the AI-investment trade, jumped 3.82%, with Samsung and SK Hynix leading on bets that they will capture a large share of that spending (BBG). US index futures were down slightly, though, with the S&P 500 contract off 0.23% and the Nasdaq-100 off 0.32%, as Alphabet slid more than 3% after hours on cost concerns and Tesla fell around 4% following a profit miss (BBG) (BBG).
Across the Asian region, the risk tone was firm. The Kospi's surge led gains, with Hang Seng up 1.19% and Nikkei 225 futures up 0.38%, while mainland China's CSI 300 was flat and Australia's ASX 200 slipped 0.37% (BBG). The rally sat against a heavier geopolitical backdrop, leaving the advance broad but cautious as European shares were set to open lower ahead of the European Central Bank decision.
Central banks anchor the session. The ECB announces at 14:15 CET and is expected to hold after last month's surprise hike, with attention on whether President Lagarde confirms September as the live meeting (LS). In the United States, the new Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh has scrapped his predecessors' forward guidance, leaving traders split into next week's meeting: swaps put roughly a one-in-three chance on a hike, even as every economist surveyed looks for a hold, with a move fully priced by September as higher oil lifts the inflation risk (BBG). The politics around the Fed sharpened, with Trump allies weighing an external review of Silicon Valley Bank's 2023 failure as a possible path to remove Governor Michael Barr (BBG). In Japan, a majority of economists now expect the Bank of Japan to raise rates again by December as a weak yen revives price pressure (Reuters).
In currencies, the dollar eased, its index down 0.17%, with the euro up 0.21% into the ECB and the Korean won the standout, strengthening 0.66% against the dollar on the Kospi surge (BBG). The yen was the weak point, near its softest in about four decades, pressured by higher oil and rising US yields (Reuters).
Government bonds sold off yesterday amid rising oil prices. Overnight, the US 10-year held at 4.659%, with the 30-year yield staying above 5% for its longest stretch since the financial crisis on debt-supply and sticky-inflation worries (BBG). Japan's 10-year climbed about 3 basis points to 2.77%, near a multi-decade high as debt-service concerns build, and Australia's 10-year rose about 2 basis points to 5.01%, while the Euro-Bund future eased 0.07% (BBG) (Reuters).
Commodities led the tape. Brent crude jumped to a six-week high after Iran-backed Houthi militants said they struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, the first attacks on oil tankers there and a new front in a conflict already snarling traffic through the Strait of Hormuz (BBG) (BBG); West Texas Intermediate rose 1.46% and natural gas gained 1.91%, while gold slipped 0.13% to 4,124.26 (BBG). Bitcoin slipped 0.71% .
On the data run, Australia's June employment surged 76.3k, far exceeding the 15.0k consensus, yet the unemployment rate held at 4.4% and underemployment climbed to a 22-month high, a mixed print that keeps the Reserve Bank of Australia's next move finely balanced (Com). The Australian dollar firmed 0.32% on the headline beat.
The corporate tape was led by the AI-spending read: beyond Alphabet's raised capital-expenditure guidance and Tesla's profit slide, IBM cut its full-year sales outlook as mainframe demand cooled (CNBC), while Texas Instruments, Macquarie and Southwest Airlines featured in the after-hours flow (BBG).
The day ahead centres on the ECB decision at 14:15 CET and Lagarde's press conference at 14:45 CET, with Canadian retail sales and US jobless claims at 14:30 CET (GGMA). In earnings, Intel reports after the US close as the next test of the AI trade, ahead of Microsoft, Meta and Amazon next week, and the Federal Reserve meets on 28-29 July (BBG).
Time Stamp: 23 July 2026, 08:10 CET
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Government bonds sold off yesterday amid rising oil prices. Overnight, the US 10-year held at 4.659%, with the 30-year yield staying above 5% for its longest stretch since the financial crisis on debt-supply and sticky-inflation worries (BBG). Japan's 10-year climbed about 3 basis points to 2.77%, near a multi-decade high as debt-service concerns build, and Australia's 10-year rose about 2 basis points to 5.01%, while the Euro-Bund future eased 0.07% (BBG) (Reuters).
Commodities led the tape. Brent crude jumped to a six-week high after Iran-backed Houthi militants said they struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, the first attacks on oil tankers there and a new front in a conflict already snarling traffic through the Strait of Hormuz (BBG) (BBG); West Texas Intermediate rose 1.46% and natural gas gained 1.91%, while gold slipped 0.13% to 4,124.26 (BBG). Bitcoin slipped 0.71% .
On the data run, Australia's June employment surged 76.3k, far exceeding the 15.0k consensus, yet the unemployment rate held at 4.4% and underemployment climbed to a 22-month high, a mixed print that keeps the Reserve Bank of Australia's next move finely balanced (Com). The Australian dollar firmed 0.32% on the headline beat.
The corporate tape was led by the AI-spending read: beyond Alphabet's raised capital-expenditure guidance and Tesla's profit slide, IBM cut its full-year sales outlook as mainframe demand cooled (CNBC), while Texas Instruments, Macquarie and Southwest Airlines featured in the after-hours flow (BBG).
The day ahead centres on the ECB decision at 14:15 CET and Lagarde's press conference at 14:45 CET, with Canadian retail sales and US jobless claims at 14:30 CET (GGMA). In earnings, Intel reports after the US close as the next test of the AI trade, ahead of Microsoft, Meta and Amazon next week, and the Federal Reserve meets on 28-29 July (BBG).
Time Stamp: 23 July 2026, 08:10 CET