Today's Edition
London (AFP)
Stock markets rose on Tuesday, with rebounding technology share prices helping Asian indices in particular.
Oil prices climbed 1.0 percent as Iran targeted US radar and air defence installations.
Tech stocks have dived in recent sessions on fears of excessive valuations in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, with chipmakers leading the rout.
But on Monday Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq index advanced, aiding a recovery across Asia on Tuesday.
"Big Tech earnings now need to prove that AI revenues, margins and cash flow can justify the scale" of the huge investments in AI infrastructure, noted Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
Evidence of this will come thanks to tech sector earnings due over the coming days, with results from Tesla and Alphabet, followed by Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon next week.
Europe's main stock markets saw modest gains in midday deals, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index reacting positively to the appointment of John Healey as finance minister.
Investors were watching British bond yields after new Prime Minister Andy Burnham - taking on stretched public finances - said he would remove tax on household electricity bills.
Elsewhere, oil prices climbed as Iran stepped up its attacks in the Middle East, two weeks after its war with the United States resumed.
On the corporate front, General Motors raised its full-year profit forecast after reporting solid quarterly results.
The big US automaker reported $1.3 billion in profits, down 31 percent from the year-ago period.
North American auto sales fell during the period, although GM's results topped analyst estimates on strong pricing, an earnings release showed ahead of Wall Street's reopening.
