21/05/2026
Asian stock markets recorded their first rise in five days as investors returned to artificial intelligence (AI)-related trading. Meanwhile, several technology companies launched initial public offerings (IPOs), further boosting market enthusiasm for the technology sector and driving an overall recovery in market sentiment.
As a key indicator of AI investment, South Korea’s KOSPI index rose more than 6% driven by positive market factors. Notably, earlier market news stated that chip giant Samsung Electronics’ stock soared 7% to a new intraday high after avoiding a strike. However, according to the latest updates, Samsung Electronics’ labor-management negotiations collapsed on May 20, and the union plans to launch the largest-scale strike in history on May 21. Nevertheless, the Suwon District Court in South Korea has approved partial injunctions requiring the strike not to affect production. In addition, in Tokyo’s stock market, SoftBank Group’s stock surged 20%, mainly due to news that OpenAI is preparing for an IPO. It is reported that OpenAI is cooperating with investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and may submit its IPO application as early as May 23, with an expected valuation exceeding $1 trillion. At the same time, SpaceX officially submitted its IPO application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 20 local time, with the stock ticker symbol SPCX, further igniting market enthusiasm for tech stocks.
The strong performance of tech stocks drove the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index up 2.6%. Earlier, U.S. President Trump stated on Wednesday that negotiations between the United States and Iran have entered the “final stage.” This statement boosted market expectations for the early resumption of energy circulation in the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a rise in Wall Street stocks. Affected by this, international oil prices fell 5.6% on Wednesday, easing inflation concerns and further driving a rebound in the global bond market. However, according to the latest developments, there are still serious differences between the U.S. and Iran on core issues. Trump has postponed the original military strike plan but clearly stated that he will not make any concessions to Iran. For its part, Iran has reaffirmed that it will promote negotiations on the basis of safeguarding national interests and will not accept any compromises.
Despite the overall market upturn, investors remain cautious. U.S. stock index futures fell slightly by 0.2% on Thursday, while AI chip leader Nvidia’s stock dropped 1.3% in after-hours trading, mainly due to the market’s lukewarm response to its performance expectations. It is reported that Nvidia’s latest financial report shows that it expects sales for the three months ending in July (the second quarter of fiscal year 2027) to reach approximately $91 billion, higher than the average analyst expectation of $87 billion but lower than the highest market expectation. Moreover, its performance that has exceeded expectations for several consecutive quarters has basically been digested by the market. In addition, after falling 5.6% on Wednesday, international oil prices rebounded slightly to around $106 per barrel, still at a relatively high level.
Currently, Asian stock markets are gradually rebounding from the recent downward trend. Previously, concerns about rising global bond yields and overvaluation triggered by AI-driven stock market gains led to a correction in Asian stock markets. At the same time, inflation risks brought about by high oil prices also reduced investors’ expectations for central bank interest rate cuts and reignited worries about further increases in borrowing costs. These factors together caused the previous market fluctuations.
On the U.S. stock front, Wednesday also saw a strong performance: the S&P 500 Index rose more than 1%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index climbed 1.7%, and the semiconductor stock index soared 4.5%. The strengthening market sentiment also drove the U.S. Treasury yield curve to rise across the board on Wednesday, while the U.S. Dollar Index edged lower.
Traders have gradually reduced their bets on a Fed rate hike by the end of the year, but still generally expect the Fed’s next move to be a rate hike, which is quite different from the market’s widespread expectation of multiple rate cuts before the U.S. attack on Iran at the end of February.
The latest developments in U.S.-Iran negotiations show that, according to the Tasnim News Agency, Iran is reviewing a new draft submitted by the United States in response to the 14-point proposal put forward to Tehran and has not yet responded. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X stating that Iran “has explored all ways to avoid war,” adding that “all roads on our side remain open.” According to the White House press corps, Trump previously stated that either an agreement will be reached with Iran, or “we will take some not-so-glorious measures, but we hope this situation will not happen.” It is worth noting that although the current market sentiment is optimistic, this is not the first time that the market has remained optimistic even without obvious signs of progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations. The subsequent progress of the negotiations will still be a key factor affecting the market.
Regarding Nvidia’s latest developments, in addition to sales expectations, the world’s highest-market-cap chip company further enhanced shareholder returns: it raised its quarterly dividend from 1 cent per share to 25 cents per share and announced an $80 billion stock repurchase plan. It is reported that Nvidia’s revenue in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 reached $81.615 billion, a year-on-year increase of 85%, with the data center business accounting for as high as 92% of total revenue. However, its after-hours stock price still fluctuated, mainly due to the full release of market expectations for its performance growth.
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