Oil soars close to US$100 on fresh Middle East attacks

London’s FTSE 100 index was dragged into the red by a 9 per cent drop in Centrica shares as the owner of British Gas laid out plans to cut 1,300 jobs alongside a mixed earnings update.

Paris shed 1 per cent, weighed down by a 15 per cent drop in semiconductor group STMicroelectronics as its sales forecasts fell short of expectations. 

French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies jumped 3 per cent after reporting that net profit doubled in the second quarter as the war pushed up energy prices.

Asian traders bought back into beaten-down tech stocks, with Seoul up more than 4 per cent, helped by rallies in chip giants SK hynix and Samsung, while Tokyo was boosted by Advantest and SoftBank.

Hong Kong and Shanghai also rose. 

Investors’ appetite for all things AI has been tested in recent months on concern about elevated valuations and as they question when the trillions pumped into the sector will see returns.

An earnings report from Google-parent Alphabet on Wednesday raised fresh concerns as it said it would likely spend as much as $205 billion on AI this year, far more than expected. 

Next week’s results from Microsoft, Meta and Amazon will be pored over for their capital spending plans.

Eyes are on Tokyo after the yen hit a fresh four-decade low against the dollar amid concerns over the gap between the Bank of Japan’s low interest rates and those in the United States and other big economies.

Rising oil prices and concerns over Japan’s economy have added to pressure on the currency.