HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed Monday with markets in Japan and South Korea trading higher, while oil prices edged lower on fresh optimism over progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations.
U.S. futures were trading lower.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.6% to 72,364.82, after reaching a new all-time record of 72,831.73 during intraday trading, helped by technology stocks that were fueled by excitement over the global artificial intelligence boom.
Japan’s SoftBank Group, the multinational investment holding company with a strong AI focus, rose 2.4%. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron was up 2.3%.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4% to 9,084.37 and was trading near its record high levels, led by AI-related shares. Memory chip maker SK Hynix surged 4.7%.
“We’re seeing another strong market today,” Neil Newman, managing director and head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan, said. He…
