US equity futures rose in Asian trade on Monday, signaling a potential rebound after last week’s AI-related sell-off: Nasdaq 100 futures +1.3%, S&P 500 futures +0.8%. Analysts said the prior sell-off was driven by concern over widening credit spreads at AI data-center-related firms; investors are reassessing risk and sentiment has eased across Asia. South Korea’s KOSPI, down about 11% last week, gained 0.5% on Monday; TOPIX staged an intraday recovery to finish flat after an early near-1% drop w

2026-10-19

US equity futures rose in Asian trade on Monday, signaling a potential rebound after last week’s AI-related sell-off: Nasdaq 100 futures +1.3%, S&P 500 futures +0.8%. Analysts said the prior sell-off was driven by concern over widening credit spreads at AI data-center-related firms; investors are reassessing risk and sentiment has eased across Asia. South Korea’s KOSPI, down about 11% last week, gained 0.5% on Monday; TOPIX staged an intraday recovery to finish flat after an early near-1% drop while Nikkei 225 fell 0.7%. BNP Paribas SA’s Asia CIO Prashant Bayani said markets bounced because the Iran conflict did not materially escalate over the weekend and noted traders remain cautious on AI positions after last week’s de-risking.