Oil Prices Rise Amid Middle East Tensions; AI Fuels Asian Market Surge

Oil prices edged higher on Friday, with Brent futures gaining 1.3% to reach $101.60 a barrel, as the United States and Iran traded shots in the Middle East. Despite the flare‑up, both sides said they did not intend to widen the conflict, and President Trump affirmed that the month‑long cease‑fire remained in place, keeping hopes for a diplomatic solution alive.

Asian markets, buoyed by a rally in semiconductor and AI‑linked stocks, slipped only marginally from record highs. The MSCI broadest index for Asian shares outside Japan fell 0.8%, while South Korea's KOSPI still headed for a weekly rise of over 12%, the strongest since 2008, driven by Samsung and SK Hynix. Taiwan's benchmark index rose 6.9% this week and Japan's Nikkei gained 4.5%, though it was down 0.4% on Friday after SoftBank shares fell following Arm Holdings' warning about supply constraints for its new AI chip.

Currency markets were largely steady. The euro traded at $1.1731, the Australian dollar at $0.7210, and the yen at 156.9 per dollar after repeated interventions that have moved nearly $70 billion since last Thursday. The Chinese yuan, the best‑performing Asian currency since the conflict began, hovered near a 6.8 per dollar level, its strongest since 2023. Investors awaited U.S. non‑farm payroll data, expecting an April increase of 62,000 jobs, while the United Kingdom faced local elections that could pressure gilt yields if Labour performs poorly. The 10‑year U.S. Treasury yield steadied at 4.39%, and Bitcoin hovered near $79,460, marking a sixth consecutive weekly gain.