Asian benchmarks mostly rise despite ongoing worries about the Iran war

• The Indian stock market plunged on Thursday, with the Sensex and Nifty 50 indices both falling by more than 1%. • This decline marks the fourth consecutive session of losses driven by massive foreign institutional investor outflows and soaring bond yields.

• Singapore led gains among Asian stocks in the third quarter of 2026, while South Korea lagged behind. • The U.S. dollar rose approximately 2% in September, creating a typical headwind for markets across the region.

• Most Asian stock markets rose in early Thursday trading on October 1, 2026, as investors bought technology, chip, and AI-related stocks. • Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.4 per cent to 68,355.81, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.7 per cent to 8,638.10.

• Nitin Bhasin of Ambit stated that India is currently failing to excite Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) due to headwinds that are not yet fully reflected in market prices. • Bhasin predicts the Nifty index will likely remain within a narrow range of plus or minus 5 per cent from current levels over the next 12 months.

• Japanese chipmakers saw their stock prices rise following a positive earnings report from U.S.-based Micron Technology. • The rally was driven by increased investor confidence in the artificial intelligence trade after Micron's financial results.

• Brent crude futures rose to $98.15 per barrel as Asian markets showed mixed trading cues on Tuesday. • Brent's active December contract increased by approximately 14% during September.

• Sandeep Bhatia, Managing Director and Head of Equity India at Macquarie Capital, identified growth opportunities in the banking, capital markets, autos, and power sectors. • Bhatia expects corporate earnings for the July-September quarter of 2026 to positively surprise the market.

• The Bank of Japan released its Q3 Tankan survey on October 1, 2026, showing business confidence among large manufacturers at +24 and non-manufacturers at +35. • The survey updated the fiscal year 2026 yen assumption to ¥154.23 per dollar, an increase from the previous survey's ¥152.57.

• US monetary tightening is creating a deepening economic divide between Asian countries with low inflation and those facing heavy deficits and spiraling prices. • Markets with high financial weightings stand to benefit most, including Singapore at 47 percent, Hong Kong at 32 percent, Malaysia at 31 percent, and India at 26 percent.

• Sirius Real Estate (SRE.L) is showing strong financial growth and a high dividend yield according to a recent stock analysis. • The company reported a revenue growth rate of 15.60% and a Return on Equity, which measures how effectively a company uses investor money, of 12.83%.

• Australia's goods trade balance narrowed by $856 million in August 2026 according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. • Exports rose 3.7% driven by gold and coal, while imports increased by 5.8% due to gold and ADP equipment.