Asian Markets Wrap | Markets Bounce Back as Geopolitical Tensions Ease and AI Deals Drive Tech Optimism

27 Jul 2026 , 07:35 PM

Market Briefs

China | Shanghai Composite (000001) 3,858.25 | +44.05 | +1.15%

• Shanghai Composite rose 1.15% to 3,858.25, with sentiment lifted by a sharp fall in oil prices over the weekend.
• The session’s standout event was the trading debut of memory chipmaker CXMT, which soared 466% on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market.

The rally made CXMT China’s most valuable listed company, with a market capitalisation of about 3.3 trillion yuan, overtaking Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

The debut followed Asia’s biggest IPO so far this year, in which CXMT raised $8.6 billion, and generated the largest single-day turnover ever recorded for an A-share stock.

Japan | Nikkei 225 64,930.97 | +320.04 | +0.50%

• Nikkei 225 rose 0.50% to 64,930.97, while the broader Topix gained 1.37%.
• The advance came as oil prices tumbled after the US and Iran refrained from further strikes over the weekend.

Toyota Motor, Nintendo and Fast Retailing were among the session’s gainers, while technology names were more mixed following Friday’s Wall Street tech selloff.

Nvidia’s recent trip to Japan, which included fresh agreements with robotics firms and Toyota, added a supportive undertone for sentiment toward AI-linked names.

South Korea | KOSPI 6,755.75 | +65.13 | +0.97%

• KOSPI recovered 0.97% to 6,755.75, clawing back part of Friday’s near-5% slide.
• Naver Corp surged more than 8% after Nvidia agreed to invest $1 billion in the company to help finance a Korean AI data centre.

The Naver-Nvidia deal is part of a $10 billion AI infrastructure project involving Nvidia, Naver and Brookfield, alongside a separately announced $500 billion business partnership between Nvidia and SK Group.

Chip stocks staged a late rebound into the close, helping the index recover further ground after a volatile session.

Hong Kong | Hang Seng Index (HSI) 25,207.19 | +243.95 | +0.98%

• Hang Seng Index rose 0.98% to 25,207.19, tracking the broader Asian rally.
• Gains were supported by the same fall in oil prices lifting sentiment across the region.

Technology and platform stocks in Hong Kong drew support from the wave of AI infrastructure deal-making emerging out of South Korea and Japan over the weekend.

The advance came even as investors stayed watchful of the still-fragile pause in US-Iran hostilities.

India | Nifty 50 23,995.95 | +228.50 | +0.96%

• Nifty 50 climbed 228.50 points to 23,995.95, snapping a five-session losing streak.
• Sensex advanced in tandem, supported by a sharp pullback in crude oil prices over the weekend.

Brent crude fell below $93 a barrel after briefly touching $100 the previous week, easing concerns over India’s import costs, inflation and the current account.

The rupee also strengthened as the oil-driven relief rally took hold, while stocks including IndiGo, Eternal and Infosys were among the day’s leading gainers. Read more about Indian Markets here 

Key News and Impact on India

1. Oil Sinks Nearly 7% as US and Iran Pause Strikes, Discuss Ceasefire Talks

• Brent crude fell sharply over the weekend, dropping below $93 a barrel after briefly touching $100 the previous week.
• The decline followed a pause in fighting between the US and Iran after nearly two weeks of escalating strikes, with both sides said to be discussing a possible resumption of ceasefire negotiations.
• The Pentagon did not comment on the reasons for the pause in attacks on Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure.

Markets across Asia rallied on the news, with the relief particularly pronounced in oil-import-dependent economies.

Analysts cautioned that the pause remains fragile, given the pattern of rapid escalation and de-escalation that has characterised the conflict for months.

Impact on India: The sharp fall in crude prices is a significant and immediate relief for India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, easing pressure on the rupee, the current account and inflation expectations that had built up through weeks of Brent trading near $100.

The Nifty and Sensex snapping their five-day losing streak on the back of this single development underscores just how directly oil-driven sentiment has been dictating the direction of Indian equities through this conflict, and how quickly that can reverse when tensions ease even temporarily.

2. Chinese Memory Chipmaker CXMT Soars 466% in Record Shanghai Debut

• Shares of CXMT Corp surged 466% on their Shanghai trading debut, closing at 49 yuan against an IPO price of 8.66 yuan.
• The rally lifted CXMT’s market capitalisation to about 3.3 trillion yuan, making it China’s most valuable listed company, ahead of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
• The IPO raised $8.6 billion, the largest mainland Chinese semiconductor offering on record, surpassing SMIC’s 2020 Shanghai listing.

CXMT is the world’s fourth-largest DRAM maker, behind Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology, and has guided for first-half revenue to rise more than sevenfold as AI-driven memory demand accelerates.

The debut generated roughly 141 billion yuan in trading volume, the first time an A-share stock has exceeded 100 billion yuan in turnover in a single day.

Impact on India: CXMT’s blockbuster debut is a reminder of how aggressively China is moving to build a self-sufficient, globally competitive memory chip industry, a dynamic Indian policymakers should weigh carefully as they design incentives for India’s own semiconductor manufacturing ambitions.

The scale of capital that Chinese markets can mobilise for a single chip IPO, $8.6 billion, also underlines the scale of institutional depth India’s GIFT City and domestic capital markets will need to develop if they are to support similarly ambitious semiconductor listings domestically in the years ahead.

3. Naver Surges 8% as Nvidia’s $1 Billion Investment Lifts KOSPI Off Friday’s Lows

• Naver Corp shares jumped more than 8% after Nvidia agreed to invest $1 billion in the company to help finance an AI data centre under construction in South Korea.
• The investment is part of a $10 billion AI infrastructure project involving Naver, Nvidia and Brookfield, which will fund a 200-megawatt AI factory built around Nvidia’s latest chip platforms.
• Separately, Nvidia announced a roughly $500 billion business partnership with SK Group, alongside expanded deals with Samsung, SK Hynix, Hyundai and LG.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described the moves as reflecting a “golden age” for Korea’s semiconductor and industrial sectors, following his meeting with President Lee Jae Myung in San Francisco.

The wave of dealmaking helped the KOSPI recover roughly 1% after Friday’s near-5% slide, as chip and AI-linked names staged a late rebound into the close.

Impact on India: The scale of Nvidia’s Korea-focused dealmaking, spanning Naver, SK Group, Samsung and Hyundai, illustrates how deliberately the company is embedding itself across an entire national technology ecosystem, a model India’s own AI and semiconductor policymakers may want to study as they court similar large-scale strategic investment.

For Indian IT firms, the deal is also a reminder that AI infrastructure investment continues to expand into new geographies and partnership structures, reinforcing the broader capital-spending cycle that underpins much of the cloud and AI-integration work driving Indian IT services revenue.

4. Nifty and Sensex Snap Five-Day Losing Streak as Oil Crash Lifts Sentiment

• Nifty 50 rose 228.50 points to 23,995.95, and the Sensex advanced in tandem, ending a five-session losing streak.
• The rally was driven by the sharp fall in Brent crude, which eased concerns over India’s import costs and inflation outlook.
• IndiGo, Eternal and Infosys were among the session’s leading gainers, while the rupee also strengthened against the dollar.

The rebound followed a difficult stretch in which the Nifty had shed value over five consecutive sessions as oil prices climbed toward $100 a barrel amid the US-Iran conflict.

Foreign institutional investors had remained net sellers through the prior sessions, while domestic institutional investors continued to provide a buying cushion.

Impact on India: The market’s sharp, immediate reaction to the weekend’s oil price relief is the clearest possible confirmation of how central crude prices have become to near-term Indian equity market direction through this conflict.

With Infosys among the day’s top gainers and IT and aviation stocks leading the bounce, the session is also a reminder that a durable recovery in Indian equities will likely need the oil relief to hold, alongside continued support from the ongoing June-quarter earnings season.

5. Asia Rallies as Wall Street Stays Cautious After Friday’s Tech-Led Selloff

• Asian shares were mostly higher on Monday, even as US futures traded mixed following Friday’s sharp technology-led decline on Wall Street.
• Investors across the region stayed watchful of geopolitical developments and inflation trends, both key factors likely to influence market direction through the week.
• A busy week of central bank decisions lies ahead, adding a further layer of caution even as the oil-driven relief rally took hold.

The mixed signals, a sharp regional equity rally alongside continued caution in AI-linked technology stocks specifically, reflect the same tension seen through much of July: a strong AI infrastructure investment narrative running alongside growing investor scrutiny of near-term returns.

Impact on India: The combination of falling oil prices and continued caution around AI-linked technology valuations offers a mixed but broadly constructive backdrop for Indian markets this week.

While the oil relief directly benefits India’s inflation and current account outlook, the lingering fragility of the US-Iran pause, together with the unresolved AI-valuation debate on Wall Street, means Indian investors should treat Monday’s rally as a relief bounce rather than a definitive turning point, with the durability of both the ceasefire and the global tech rally likely to shape sentiment through the rest of the week.