Nasdaq 100 futures rise 1.3% as Asian markets diverge amid AI credit concerns

Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.3% and S&P 500 futures gained 0.8% in Asian trading on the 19th, after U.S. stocks fell last week amid concerns over credit risks at artificial intelligence data center companies.

The Financial Times reported that U.S. stocks posted their steepest weekly decline since President Donald Trump announced tariffs in April last year. Selling followed concerns that credit spreads for companies tied to AI data centers could widen. A credit spread is the difference between a company’s borrowing rate and the yield on government bonds.

“There was a rebound because the war in Iran did not materially escalate over the weekend,” said Prashant Bhayani, chief investment officer for Asia at BNP Paribas. He added that traders were taking a wait-and-see approach to AI-related trades after reducing risk last week.

Asian markets were mixed. South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.5% on the 19th after falling 11% last week. Japan’s TOPIX recovered from an early decline of nearly 1% to close around flat, while the Nikkei 225 fell 0.7%.