Emerging Stocks Reclaim Pre-War Peak on AI, Hormuz Deal Hopes

Emerging-market stocks climbed Monday amid a renewed focus on artificial intelligence companies, even as the stalemate between the US and Iran on resuming peace negotiations left the Strait of Hormuz almost impassable and pushed oil higher.

MSCI’s emerging equity index closed 1.2% higher, eclipsing the previous pre-war peak reached in February. The gauge’s advance was driven by outperformance in Asian semiconductor stocks including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and SK Hynix. This week’s raft of US tech earnings are expected to point to robust demand for artificial-intelligence chips.