Asian markets jump to new record highs, Nvidia announce a new PC chip

Asian markets traded mixed on Monday as investors continued to assess uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran negotiations. South Korea outperformed the region, with the Kospi rising 1.3% to a record high, supported by a more than 3% gain in Samsung Electronics. Japans Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2%.

U.S. stock futures moved higher early Monday, signaling a positive start to June after Wall Street ended May at record highs. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.6%, and Dow futures were up about 58 points. May was a strong month for equities, led by technology stocks. The Nasdaq surged more than 8%, while the S&P 500 gained around 5% and the Dow Jones rose nearly 3%.

This week‘s key focus is Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which could provide important clues about labor market strength and influence expectations for future Federal Reserve interest-rate decisions.

Nvidia is entering the PC processor market, challenging long-time leaders such as Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Apple. At Computex, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the N1X processor, developed with Microsoft, which will power a new generation of AI-focused Windows PCs under the RTX Spark platform.

This move could make Nvidia a direct competitor not only to Intel and AMD in PCs, but also to many companies building the infrastructure that powers the AI economy.

Oil prices climbed sharply on Monday. Brent crude rose 2.4% to $93.33 per barrel. WTI crude gained 2.8% to $89.77 per barrel. The market reaction reflects fears that escalating tensions in the Middle East could disrupt energy supplies and reduce the chances of extending the U.S.-Iran ceasefire arrangement that had helped calm markets in recent weeks.