By Mike Dolan<\/p>\n
April 21 (Reuters) –<\/p>\n
What matters in U.S. and global markets today<\/p>\n
By Mike Dolan, Editor-at-Large, Finance and Markets<\/p>\n
Tech stocks are refusing to go to ground this week, despite ongoing Gulf tensions and the looming expiry of the current two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Although Wall Street indexes \u200cedged lower on Monday, futures rebounded overnight and tech-heavy global bourses pushed higher, especially in Asia.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll get into that and more below.<\/p>\n
But first, \u200ccheck out my latest column on whether Europe’s savings rates could help it weather the oil shock – and why the answer isn\u2019t so simple.<\/p>\n
And listen to the latest episode of the Morning Bid daily \u200bpodcast. Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the biggest news in markets and finance seven days a week.<\/p>\n
Finally, don’t forget to mark April 23 in your calendar, when I’ll be joining my ROI colleague Jamie McGeever for a timely webinar discussion on rethinking safe-haven assets in uncertain times. Sign up here.<\/p>\n
TECH OVERWHELMS IRAN TENSION<\/p>\n
Wall Street\u2019s pause on Monday came as investors fretted about the durability of the ceasefire and uncertain prospects for further peace talks, which a Pakistani source said could recommence on Wednesday. Tehran is still \u200creviewing its participation in the potential talks.<\/p>\n
Despite Monday\u2019s lull, \u2060sentiment improved on Tuesday as Asian stocks largely rose amid renewed AI enthusiasm and reports that Iran was considering joining talks.<\/p>\n
South Korea\u2019s volatile Kospi pushed to a new high for the first time since the Iran war began, with tech-led gains also lifting \u2060markets in Tokyo and Taiwan. Tech investor SoftBank surged and memory chipmaker SK Hynix hit a fresh all-time high.<\/p>\n
Sentiment was also boosted by Amazon\u2019s announcement on Monday that it plans to invest up to $25 billion in AI startup Anthropic. That follows its $50 billion investment in OpenAI<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n Those deals will set the tone as U.S. tech earnings get underway \u200bthis \u200bweek, with Tesla<\/a> reporting earnings on Wednesday. Meantime, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is holding closed-door analyst \u200bbriefings this week ahead of a record-breaking IPO later in the \u200cyear.<\/p>\n