Gulf Cooperation Council said member states have the right to individual or collective self-defense if subjected to aggression.

BNP Paribas SA analyst William Bratton said that despite increased volatility in South Korean chip stocks, the country's tech supercycle is expected to persist in the near term. He said fundamentals and structural drivers behind the memory rally remain intact, supported by strong earnings momentum and a lack of convincing earnings growth stories elsewhere in the region. "It's too early to say the forces driving Asian and Korean tech sectors have ended," he added, while warning that if the tech cycle eventually turns, Korean equities could face significant headwinds; recent pullbacks are normal consolidation rather than a structural reversal of the tech investment theme.

Williams: inflation remains "too high".