Daily News
Nikkei Gains 1.7% and Kospi Jumps 3.8% as Wall Street Rallies on Anthropic IPO Filing; Gold Hovers Near $4,020; Crude Falls Below $101 on Renewed Iran Diplomacy
27 October 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 1.7% and the Topix gaining 0.4%, South Korea’s Kospi advancing 3.8% and the tech-focused Kosdaq gaining 2.9%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.32% lower. U.S. stocks closed higher Monday as semiconductor makers rallied after Anthropic’s IPO filing revived enthusiasm for the AI trade — the Dow added 146.42 points to 52,361.58, the S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 7,676.77, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.82% to 26,169.38. Gold hovered near $4,020 an ounce on Tuesday as falling oil prices and bargain-hunting ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision offered support, while crude fell below $101 per barrel for a second consecutive session on renewed diplomatic efforts to defuse US-Iran tensions.
In other news: China’s industrial profits rose 14.4% in September, the strongest pace since June; Taiwan’s central bank said strong technology demand should drive exports into 2027 and forecast 5.82% growth next year; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied reports of a clash over a possible escalation with Iran ahead of elections; the Bank of Canada is expected to raise its benchmark rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday; Anthropic warned of catastrophic risks to humanity as it detailed its planned Nasdaq listing under the ticker ANT; SpaceX closed a $40 billion debt financing for AI chips; Meta announced a $95 billion stock offering to fund its AI expansion; and TSMC is poised to raise advanced chip packaging prices by up to 20%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.7% while the Topix gained 0.4%
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.7% while the Topix gained 0.4%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 3.8% and the tech-focused, small-cap Kosdaq gained 2.9%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.32% lower. Wall Street kicked off the week on a solid note. The Dow climbed 146.42 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 gained 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8% as tech shares outperformed. The artificial intelligence trade got a boost after Anthropic filed to go public at the Nasdaq. This would mark another major tech IPO for 2026, following SpaceX’s blockbuster listing in June.
Stocks close higher as excitement over Anthropic IPO filing propels tech sector
Stocks rose Monday as semiconductor makers rallied after Anthropic’s IPO filing revived enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 146.42 points, or 0.28%, to end at 52,361.58. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 7,676.77, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.82% to close at 26,169.38. Chip stocks and other AI-related shares rose as Anthropic publicly filed for an IPO, an offering investors are betting will add new life to the flagging tech sector. The AI company behind Claude reported $16.29 billion in revenue for the six months ended June, a 1,304% increase from $1.16 billion during the same period a year earlier. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol “ANT.”
Gold prices hovered near $4,020 an ounce on Tuesday
Gold prices hovered near $4,020 an ounce on Tuesday after recently hitting a more than three-month low, as falling oil prices and bargain-hunting ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision offered some support. Crude prices fell for a second consecutive session amid renewed diplomatic efforts to defuse US-Iran tensions, helping ease near-term inflation concerns. However, energy prices remained elevated, keeping inflation risks in focus and sustaining expectations of further monetary tightening, which could weigh on non-yielding gold. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged this week, with markets focused on policymakers’ forward guidance for clues about the rate outlook. Markets are pricing in a roughly 82% chance of a rate hike in December, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Crude oil fell below $101 per barrel on Tuesday, extending losses for a second consecutive session
Crude oil fell below $101 per barrel on Tuesday, extending losses for a second consecutive session as renewed diplomatic efforts in the Middle East raised hopes of preventing a wider escalation of the US-Iran conflict. Reports said senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey met with top Iranian officials on Monday to ease tensions and revive negotiations aimed at avoiding another wave of US-Israeli strikes against Iran. The discussions come roughly a week before the US midterm elections, after which President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that military strikes against Iran could resume following months of stalled negotiations.
China industrial profits post strongest growth in three months as tech boom widens economic divide
China’s industrial profits grew at their strongest pace last month since June, as a boom in manufacturing tied to artificial intelligence offset drag from persistently weak domestic demand. Profits at large industrial firms rose 14.4% in September from a year earlier, according to data released Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics. For the first nine months of this year, industrial profits climbed 15.5%, slightly below the 15.7% rise in the January-September period. The strength comes as industrial earnings swung to double-digit growth earlier this year, following a modest gain in 2025 after three straight years of declines, helped by Beijing’s efforts to curb rampant price wars across sectors and surging demand for AI-related equipment.
Taiwan central bank sees strong tech demand driving exports into 2027
Taiwan’s central bank said on Tuesday that strong technology demand would drive exports into next year, though economic growth in 2027 will likely moderate after this year’s high base. Taiwan is a major semiconductor manufacturer and home to TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and supplier to companies like Nvidia, which are powering the trend towards AI. Here are some details from the central bank’s report: “Looking ahead to next year, demand for emerging technology applications is expected to remain strong, which should continue to drive Taiwan’s exports and private investment,” the central bank said in a report to lawmakers However, because this year’s base for economic growth is relatively high, the bank said it forecasts the economy to expand 5.82% next year, “which still represents steady growth”
Netanyahu rejects reports of potential escalation with Iran before elections
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has denied reports that Netanyahu clashed with his military chief of staff over an order to conduct a possible escalation with Iran ahead of upcoming elections this week, according to the Associated Press. In a social media post, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also said he can “state unequivocally that there has been no intention by Israel of initiating an attack on Iran before the elections.” Katz described reports of strains between political and military leaders in Israel as “completely baseless and false,” yet stressed that the country would respond to any further attacks by Iran.
Bank of Canada expected to hike rate on Wednesday to stem spillover of energy inflation
The Bank of Canada will likely raise its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday as a pre-emptive move to stop energy-led inflation from spreading to the rest of the economy, according to money markets and economists. A hike would raise borrowing costs for consumers and could weigh on a weakening economy. But it would also show how worried policymakers are that higher energy costs will spill into food and housing prices, economists said. A rate increase would be the first since July 2023 and the first change in the bank’s policy rate in a year. Earlier this month at International Monetary Fund meetings in Bangkok, BoC Governor Tiff Macklem signalled the bank was ready to act if inflation stays high. The BoC’s business and consumer surveys, released after his comments, showed inflationary concerns.
Anthropic warns of ‘catastrophic risk’ to humankind ahead of blockbuster share listing
Anthropic has warned artificial intelligence (AI) could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity” as it unveiled details of its planned blockbuster stock market listing in the US. The firm’s valuation is expected to exceed that of SpaceX, which was the biggest-ever listing at an initial valuation of about $1.8 trillion in the summer. Anthropic has not yet disclosed the number of shares to be released, their price range, or a date for the listing. The Claude chatbot developer reported $16.3bn (£12.2bn) of revenue in the first half of the year, with losses of more than $80.7bn. Anthropic, which said it will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol ANT, will be the first fully AI-focused company to go public, making it a test case for the future of the technology.
SpaceX closes $40 billion debt deal for AI chips, Elon Musk says
SpaceX has closed $40 billion in debt financing to buy graphics processing units, or GPUs, used to power artificial intelligence systems. In a post on X on Sunday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said it had closed the financing, adding that the company was investment grade and generated revenue from its Starlink satellite internet and rocket launch businesses. In a follow-up post, he added that the financing primarily consisted of callable debt for graphics processing units, which are expected to arrive in the first and second quarters of 2027. In a regulatory filing Monday, SpaceX said it signed a binding commitment with an Apollo-managed entity for roughly $40 billion in GPU financing.
Meta announces $95 billion stock offering to fund AI expansion
Meta said Monday it is planning to raise a total of $95 billion to support its investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure and superintelligence. The stock was down 1.6% in morning trading after the announcement. Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom were interested in purchasing up to $5 billion in shares, Meta said in a statement. The tech giant will initially raise $35 billion in underwritten public equity offerings, before raising an additional $60 billion with an at-the-market program. The news comes as hyperscalers pour record sums into the AI infrastructure build-out. Goldman Sachs estimates that AI-related capital spending could total about $7.6 trillion from 2026 through 2031, across compute, data centers and power.
TSMC to raise advanced chip packaging prices by up to 20%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is poised to raise prices for its advanced chip packaging services by as much as 20%, as surging AI demand tightens capacity across the semiconductor supply chain, the Commercial Times reported on Tuesday, citing industry sources. The report said foundries and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers were preparing for price increases of 10% to 20% for chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging, which is widely used in advanced AI processors. Demand has expanded beyond graphics processing units to server central processing units and custom application-specific integrated circuits, while longer testing times for AI chips are adding pressure on packaging and testing capacity, the report said. Equipment lead times have lengthened to six to eight months from three to six months previously, as chipmakers prioritise delivery schedules and suppliers struggle to expand production quickly.