(AFP) – Oil prices fell further Tuesday on speculation the United States and Iran could make progress on talks to end the Middle East war this week, but a tech rally on enthusiasm about Meta’s new AI agent faded. The Brent international crude benchmark again dipped back below $100 a barrel, with investors eyeing a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the UN General Assembly in New York. Hopes that Saudi Arabia will quickly resume flows through its East-West pipeline added to the downward pressure.
A renewed burst of confidence in artificial intelligence, which pushed technology stocks higher in Asia, meanwhile ran out of steam as Europe’s main markets ended the day mixed. Wall Street indices opened higher a day after the Nasdaq hit an all-time closing high Monday, but the Dow was lower by late morning and the Nasdaq was showing only a small gain. Stocks had risen in Asia as enthusiasm poured back into the technology sector after Facebook owner Meta’s free AI agent Muse topped the download charts following its release this month. “If there is widespread adoption of Muse, it could add to demand for other AI tools, which could lift the AI sector, after a rough few months,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.
Meta said Muse, which can book travel, send emails and make purchases, was built for people with no technical background and is designed to work the way people already message each other. Alibaba unveiled what it hailed as China’s most powerful AI chip at its annual Apsara Conference, along with plans to boost data centre capacity. The firm, which runs some of China’s biggest online shopping platforms, including Taobao, has ploughed tens of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence. But gains in tech shares faded in Tuesday trading in New York. Meta shares were up around 1.2 percent in Tuesday morning trading in New York, after having surged 11 percent on Monday.
Traders are also looking to Washington ahead of a summit on Thursday between Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping that is expected to focus on trade between the world’s two biggest economies. A simmering US-China trade war is a key concern, as both sides have maintained a tariff truce for nearly a year but have yet to secure a lasting agreement. US and Chinese economic officials met in New York on Sunday for talks on trade and artificial intelligence to lay the groundwork for the summit. China’s top trade negotiator He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed creating a communication channel for AI concerns, with warnings of an AI apocalypse hanging heavy as both countries race for technological supremacy.
“The big question is what’s going to happen when the current one-year trade truce expires in November, and whilst the general tone remains positive, there still isn’t an agreement yet,” said Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid. AI’s growing role in society and its threat to jobs and cybersecurity will be a major topic at the UN General Assembly, where leaders are expected to discuss an international framework — though Trump has slammed calls to slow the technology’s development.
**Key figures at around 1530 GMT:**
– Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $99.61 per barrel
– West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $95.38 per barrel
– New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 51,786.51 points
– New York – S&P 500: FLAT at 7,762.51
– New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 27,216.41
– London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 10,708.33 (close)
– Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 8,160.36 (close)
– Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 25,578.85 (close)
– Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 25,087.75 (close)
– Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,952.13 (close)
– Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
– Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1443 from $1.1466 on Monday
– Pound/dollar: DOWN $1.3341 from $1.3370
– Euro/pound: UP 85.76 pence from 85.75 pence
– Dollar/yen: DOWN 157.38 from 157.40 yen
© 2024 AFP
