US tech rebound lifts global markets as Middle East tensions ease

Market Commentary

US equities rose on Monday as easing Middle East tensions and rekindled confidence in AI‑related stocks lifted sentiment. The S&P 500 gained close to 1%, the Nasdaq 100 rose 1.47% and the Dow added 0.15%. Investor fears eased after Iran signalled its military operation against Israel had ended and President Donald Trump expressed optimism about talks with Iran.

Tech led the advance as chipmakers recovered from last week’s sell‑off. The S&P 500 technology index climbed 2.50% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 6.70%, recouping part of the near‑$1 trillion wiped from US‑listed semiconductor market value. Marvell Technology and Micron each rose more than 4%, Nvidia gained 2% and Intel jumped 12.30% after reports that Google had ordered over three million tensor processing units for delivery in 2028. Marvell will also join the S&P 500 later this month. Market attention now shifts to Oracle’s results on Wednesday.

European markets recovered from early losses, with the Euro STOXX 50 up 0.30% and the STOXX Europe 600 slightly positive. A brief de‑escalation – US talks with Iran – lowered sovereign yields and supported cyclicals and luxury names, while ASML jumped over 4% on positive commentary from Nvidia’s CEO.

Meanwhile, London’s FTSE 100 recovered from earlier weakness to finish slightly higher, marking a third straight day of gains and outperforming most major global indices. Germany’s DAX, however, declined 0.43%.

Asian markets extended their losses on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 falling 3.85% to 64 024 and the broader Topix Index declining 2.45% to 3 852, marking a third consecutive session of declines. The Shanghai Composite was down 1.75% and the Hang Seng dropped 1.35%. The sell-off followed Friday’s sharp weakness on Wall Street, where semiconductor and technology shares came under heavy pressure.

Technology and semiconductor stocks were among the worst performers. Kioxia Holdings dropped 8%, Murata Manufacturing slumped 10.20%, SoftBank Group fell 6.10%, Advantest lost 5.70%, and Tokyo Electron declined 7.50%, weighing heavily on the broader market.

In South Africa, the 10-year government bond yield climbed to around 8.74%, its highest level in more than two weeks as Fitch Ratings raised the country’s long‑term foreign and local currency ratings by one notch to BB from BB‑, with a stable outlook and its first upgrade in over two decades. Market participants are now focused on upcoming domestic economic data, including GDP, mining production, and manufacturing figures.

The JSE All Share Index edged 0.17% lower, with the Resources and Metals & Mining sectors each falling by more than 2%. Meanwhile, the rand strengthened against the US dollar, gaining 0.34%.

Commodities were mixed. WTI eased to about $91 a barrel after earlier intraday highs, despite OPEC+ approving a July 2026 production increase of 188 000 barrels per day. Brent crude increased 1.56% to trade at $94.54. Chinese imports showed a sharp pullback, dampening demand prospects in Asia.

Precious metals also delivered a mixed performance: Gold rose 0.29% to $4 341.44 per ounce and silver advanced 1.34%. Platinum, however, came under pressure, ending the session 2.31% lower.