Asian stocks rebound as Middle East tensions ease

Asian stock markets recovered some of its losses on Monday after fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East subsided, Reuters reported. Investors, regaining some risk appetite, shifted back towards riskier assets.

This followed news that Iran would not retaliate for a recent Israeli drone attack, which itself came after an Iranian missile and drone strike on Israel. The de-escalation eased anxieties that had gripped markets on Friday.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares rose 0.83 per cent by early Monday morning, clawing back some of the 1.8 per cent drop seen on Friday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 1.94 per cent. Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 gained 0.92 per cent. South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 0.82 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei underperformed the region, adding only 0.56 per cent due to its concentration of chipmaker stocks, which mirrored Friday’s decline in their US counterparts.

Concerns linger regarding potential interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve later this year, along with anxieties about upcoming earnings reports from chip companies.

Meanwhile, the European stock futures pointed towards a positive open, with both pan-European STOXX 650 futures and FTSE futures edging higher.

US stock futures also rose slightly, following a 0.88 per cent drop for the S&P 500 on Friday.

Oil prices, meanwhile, retreated as traders shifted their focus back to market fundamentals. Brent crude futures fell 0.77 per cent, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also declined by around 0.76 per cent.