Global shares are mixed and US futures advance, while oil prices fall
nearly 4%
[November 02, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — Global shares were mixed and oil prices retreated
Monday, falling sharply on renewed hopes for progress in diplomatic
efforts between the U.S. and Iran.
U.S. futures advanced after U.S. stocks fell Friday to their worst day
since June as investors dumped artificial intelligence-related and other
technology stocks.
In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 edged down 0.1% to
10,721.94. Germany's DAX climbed 0.1% to 25,849.98, while the CAC 40 in
Paris added 0.1% to 7,975.87.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gave up early gains, slipping 0.3% to
63,081.86 as some major technology companies fell.
Shares of OpenAI investor SoftBank Group dropped 1.6%. Japanese memory
chipmaker Kioxia Holdings plunged 15.8% as its earnings forecasts
disappointed some analysts and investors.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index rose 2.2% to 5,859.08. Samsung
Electronics added 1.8%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 3.8%.
Technology stocks have wavered as investors fret that the AI buildup may
prove to be a bubble.
Apple is due to report its latest earnings results later in the day.
Last week, earnings reports from Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Amazon
rattled markets and raised fresh questions over whether their massive
AI-related spending will bring profitable returns as quickly as hoped.
While recent developments do not necessarily mean that the AI boom is
beginning to unravel, the debate is entering another phase, Sunil
Tirumalai at UBS Global Research wrote in a recent note.
Investors have become “distinctly more nervous about a handful of
companies with weaker balance sheets or bigger financial commitments,”
he said, rather than the technology sector as a whole.
“Some cracks have appeared,” said Tirumalai. “Increasingly, the question
will be whether all the money being spent on it can generate adequate
financial returns.”
Over the past month, the Nikkei 225 has fallen more than 7% and the
Kospi dropped more than 16%.
Taiwan’s Taiex was 0.7% lower, with leading chipmaker TSMC, or Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., shedding 1.7%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 23,393.32. The Shanghai Composite
index was up 1.1% to 3,638.03, despite China reporting over the weekend
that its factory activity returned to contractionary territory in
October.
China’s central bank and its securities regulatory body met with
financial institutions to discuss ways to support the markets, according
to Chinese media reports. The Shanghai Composite index has fallen more
than 8% since the beginning of this year and nearly 15% from its highest
level in the past year.
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A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's
Nikkei index at a securities firm, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Tokyo.
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
 The People's Bank of China said
Monday that around 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) would be deployed
under a new swap facility that will provide dozens of financial
firms more liquidity that can then be used to invest in the market.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6% to 8,856.50.
India’s Sensex rose 1%.
On Friday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 fell 1.8% and the
technology-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 2.9%. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average slid 1.1%.
Investors are watching for the outcome of Tuesday’s U.S. midterm
elections. Voters across the political spectrum have shown
increasing concerns about AI and data centers, along with inflation
and other key issues.
Oil prices dropped more than 2% early Monday, with Brent crude, the
international standard, down 3.9% to $109.01 per barrel. Still,
that's much higher than the roughly $72 a barrel level in late
February before the war.
Benchmark U.S. crude gave up 4.1%, to $99.82 a barrel.
Uncertainties surrounding the situation in the Middle East continued
to pressure global oil supplies, particularly over the reopening of
the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil transport.
Iran’s top diplomat said in an interview shared on his Telegram
channel over the weekend that Iranian negotiators were in Qatar for
talks on a proposal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within
two days if the U.S. meets several conditions. However, he said no
direct talks were being held with the U.S.
The final outcome of the diplomatic efforts to avoid a return to
all-out war depends on answers provided by the United States to the
“Iranian questions,” he said.
In other dealings early Monday, the U.S. dollar rose to 157.64
Japanese yen from 157.49 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1236, up
from $1.1160.
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