Seoul Gazette - Stocks climb as oil slides, AI buzz returns

Oil prices were sharply lower as markets bet that US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian could meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week.

International benchmark crude contract Brent was back below $100 per barrel on hopes that diplomatic progress to restore supplies could be made.

That added to the positive mood from a renewed burst of confidence in artificial intelligence, which pushed technology stocks higher in Asia.

In Europe, the less tech-heavy London, Paris and Frankfurt stock markets all advanced.

Enthusiasm poured back into the technology sector after Facebook owner Meta's free AI agent Muse topped the download charts following its release this month.

"If there is widespread adoption of Muse, it could add to demand for other AI tools, which could lift the AI sector, after a rough few months," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.

Meta said Muse, which can book travel, send emails and make purchases, was built for users with no technical background and is designed to work the way people already message each other.

Shares in the tech giant surged 11 percent on Wall Street Monday.

Asian markets climbed, with gains for South Korea's tech-rich Kospi and Taiwan's Taiex -- home to chipmaking titan TSMC.

Alibaba also unveiled what it hailed as China's most powerful AI chip at its annual Apsara Conference, along with plans to boost data centre capacity.

The firm, which runs some of China's biggest online shopping platforms, including Taobao, has been ploughing tens of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence.

- US-China hopes -

Traders are also looking to Washington ahead of a summit on Thursday between Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that is expected to focus on trade between the world's top two economies.

The simmering US-China trade war is a key concern. Both sides have maintained a tariff truce for nearly a year, but they have yet to secure a lasting agreement.

"The big question is what's going to happen when the current one-year trade truce expires in November, and whilst the general tone remains positive, there still isn't an agreement yet," said Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid.

US and Chinese economic officials met in New York on Sunday for closely watched talks on trade and artificial intelligence to lay the groundwork for the meeting.

China's top trade negotiator He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed creating a communication channel for AI concerns, with warnings of an AI apocalypse hanging heavy as both countries race for technological supremacy.

- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.7 percent at $97.61 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.3 percent at $89.39 per barrel

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,758.13 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 8,185.90

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 25,669.14

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 25,087.75 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,952.13 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday

Dollar/yen: DOWN 157.14 from 157.40 yen on Monday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1465 from $1.1466

Pound/dollar: DOWN $1.3361 from $1.3370

Euro/pound: UP 85.81 pence from 85.75 pence

I.Do--SG