Meta发布AI智能体Muse引发芯片股大涨，AMD市值首破万亿

THIS IS THE ASIA TRADE. I AM SHERY AHN IN TOKYO. THE TOP STORIES THIS HOUR. ASIAN STOCKS SET FOR GAINS AS THE TECH RARELY SENDS WALL STREET TO ITS BEST DAY SINCE EARLY AUGUST. OIL PRICES EASING ON HOPES FOR A DIPLOMATIC PROCESS -- PROGRESS ON ENDING THE IRAN WAR. CHIPMAKERS SURGING ON EARLY SIGNS OF SUCCESS FOR THE NEW AI AGENT WITH AMD'S MARKET CAP TOPPING $1 TRILLION FOR THE FIRST TIME. ALSO AHEAD, VIETNAM'S PRESIDENT TELLS US EXCLUSIVELY HIS NATION IS VERY CLOSE TO A TRADE DEAL WITH THE U.S.

AFTER MONTHS OF NEGOTIATIONS.

I'M STEPHEN ENGLE IN WASHINGTON WHERE PREPARATIONS ARE STEPPING UP FOR CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING'S ESTATE VISIT ON THURSDAY. DESPITE AN UPBEAT EARLY MEETING, JAMIESON GREER IS SOUNDING A NOTE OF CAUTION THAT DIVISIONS DO REMAIN ON EXTENDING THAT TARIFF TRUCE. HAIDI: I AM HAIDI STROUD-WATTS IN SYDNEY. TAKE A LOOK AT THE SET UP AS WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR GEOPOLITICS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND OF COURSE HEADING INTO THOSE KEY TALKS BETWEEN THE PRESIDENTS TRUMP AND XI JINPING.

THIS IS THE PICTURE AS WE HEAD INTO THE ASIA OPEN LOOKING PRETTY OPTIMISTIC. POISED TO CLIMB AFTER THE TECH FUELED VALLEY ON WALL STREET. THE DROP IN OIL PRICES LIFTING SENTIMENT AS WELL, PROVIDING EXTRA SUPPORT THERE, PARTICULARLY AS IT HAS BEEN SO MUCH CONSTERNATION OVER WHAT THAT COULD FEED THROUGH TO LONGER-LASTING INFLATION. IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHERE OIL PRICES ARE SITTING AT THE MOMENT, PRETTY STUDYING WITH THE BRENT CRUDE UP BY ALMOST 3.5%.

THE FOUR DAY SLUMP PRETTY MUCH CONTINUING. MIDDLE EAST SUPPLY CONCERNS EASING. WE ARE TRACKING SOME OF THESE INCREASED -- DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS TO END THE U.S.-IRAQ WAR. WE ARE LOOKING AT SATELLITE DATA SHOWING THEM INSIDE THE GULF JUMPED OVER THE WEEKEND SO IT DOES SUGGEST THAT AT LEAST ON THE SAUDI FRONT, WE ARE SEEING THEM SHIFT BACK TOWARDS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ. WHICH IS ENCOURAGING FOR THE BROADER ENERGY CRISIS PICTURE.

GOLD UP ALMOST HALF A PERCENT. WE ARE CONTINUING TO WATCH TREASURIES THERE AS WELL. THE DOLLAR HAS BEEN UP AS WE SEE PERHAPS FED SPEAKERS SEEING THE POTENTIAL FOR MORE HIKES AHEAD. LET'S BRING IN OUR MLIV STRATEGIST, MARK CRANFIELD, FOR MORE ON MARKETS. IN ANY SENSE, WE HAVE A LOW LIQUIDITY ISSUE WITH JAPAN STILL ON HOLIDAYS AND PROBABLY A BIT OF RISK AVERSION GOING INTO THOSE TALKS AS WELL. WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING IN THE SESSION?

PEOPLE ON THE INSIDE, ESPECIALLY THOSE FOCUSED ON THE STATES, THEY COULD SEE THIS BREWING FOR SOME TIME ACTUALLY. THERE WAS A LOT OF TALK YESTERDAY ABOUT THE NASDAQ FUTURES, PEOPLE LOOKING AT THIS SO-CALLED INVERTED HEAD AND SHOULDERS PATTERN WHICH IS A VERY BULLISH TRIGGER FOR MARKETS. ALL HE NEEDED WAS A SPARK. META PLATFORMS -- AI WAS WELL RECEIVED AND YOU CAN SEE THE CONSEQUENCES WITH INTEL AND AMD. THOSE STOCKS RISING DRAMATICALLY AS WELL.

ALL THAT WE WERE WAITING FOR WAS SOMEONE TO JUST PUSH A MARKET A LITTLE BIT FURTHER. WE GOT A RALLY WHICH HAD REALLY BEEN COMING FOR SOME TIME. IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED WITH THE NASDAQ IN PARTICULAR, GOING SIDEWAYS FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. THEY HAVE BEEN CLEANED OUT. PEOPLE IN NEUTRAL SPACE, COMING TOWARDS THE FOURTH QUARTER OF THE YEAR WHEN PEOPLE ARE TYPICALLY MORE BULLISH ON EQUITIES ANYWAY. EVERYTHING WAS FALLING NICELY INTO PLACE BUT ALL WE NEEDED WAS POSITIVE NEWS ON THE MEETINGS.

WE GOT THAT FROM SCOTT BESSENT. NEGOTIATIONS LOOK GOOD. THAT HELPS TO IMPROVE MARKET YESTERDAY. WE GET THE NEWS FROM META AND THE OTHER COMPANIES AS WELL AND YOU HAVE WHAT COULD BE A RALLY THAT COULD TAKE US THROUGH FOR SOME WEEKS AS LONG AS THE GEOPOLITICS STAYS IN THE BACKGROUND. OIL PRICES CONTINUE TO BE SIDEWAYS OR SLIGHTLY DOWN. EVERYTHING IS IN PLACE FOR THE MARKETS TO REFOCUS ON THE AI STORY AND FOR IT TO BE A PRETTY GOOD RUN OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.

A BIT OF FOMO AS WE MENTIONED, TOO. INVESTORS WANTING TO FRONTLOAD AHEAD OF WHAT IS GOING TO BE A VERY PATCHY WEEK HOLIDAY WISE IN ASIA. MARK: THE CALENDAR IS SUPPORTING THE RALLY AS WELL. YOU GOT JAPAN OFF AGAIN TODAY AND THEN SOUTH KOREA, CHINA, AND TAIWAN. PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE LOOKING AT JAPANESE COMPANIES ARE GOING TO BE FORCED INTO TAIWAN , INTO SOUTH KOREA. WHEN SOUTH KOREA GO ON HOLIDAY, PEOPLE WILL BE TRYING TO PLAY CATCH UP IN JAPAN.

IT WILL BE A BIT SELF-FULFILLING BECAUSE OF THE COMPRESSION OF THE CALENDAR. MORE PEOPLE WILL BE GOING INTO THE LIMITED NUMBER OF STOCKS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO TRADE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AND THAT WILL ADD FUEL. AS LONG AS THE U.S. MARKET STAYS IN GOOD SHAPE AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOW THE SIZE OF THE RALLY YESTERDAY, IT'S PRETTY DRAMATIC. WE HAVE FED SPEAKERS WHO ARE SLIGHTLY HAWKISH YET THE MARKET JUST COMPLETELY IGNORED IT.

IT'S A PRETTY TELLING FACTOR WHEN THE EQUITY MARKET ISN'T INTERESTED IN CENTRAL BANK SPEAKERS, DOESN'T CARE WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE BOND MARKET OR THE CURRENCY OR REALM, JUST COMPLETELY FOCUSED ON GETTING THINGS DONE AND TRYING TO MAXIMIZE THE AI STORY. THAT'S A VERY POWERFUL NARRATIVE AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL GO ON FOR SOME TIME. HAIDI: MARK CRANFIELD THERE. AS MENTIONED, AT THE CENTER OF THAT LATEST AI RALLY, THE U.S.

WAS META'S NEW AI AGENT, MUSE, ALLOWING USERS TO CREATE PERSONALIZED AI AGENTS CAPABLE OF CARRYING OUT TASKS ONLINE. FOR MORE ON THE IMPACT, WE ARE JOINED BY GLOBAL HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, MANDEEP SINGH. THIS IS NOT JUST ANOTHER CHATBOT. HOW SIGNIFICANT IS MUSE? MANDEEP: I MEAN, THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST PERSONAL AGENT CHATBOT THAT WE HAVE SEEN SO FAR , AND CLEARLY, META, WITH ITS RICH HISTORY OF CONSUMERS IS ABLE TO PROVIDE A LOT MORE TAILORED EXPERIENCE.

I THINK THE KEY CHALLENGE FOR SOMEONE LIKE META WOULD BE MAKING SURE THEY ARE ABLE TO DOLE OUT AN ECOSYSTEM AROUND THAT CHATBOT BECAUSE WE SAW THE NEWS ABOUT AMAZON CUTTING OFF MUSE. THAT IS THE RISK. YOU KNOW, META CANNOT SERVE THE CHATBOT EXPERIENCE AND TO END. THEY NEED AN ECOSYSTEM AND THAT IS WHERE THE LIKES OF AMAZON AND WALMART ARE GOING TO HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY. SHERY: TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW MUSE CAN DEVELOP THAT ECOSYSTEM AND THE RIVALRY WE ARE NOW STARTING TO SEE WITH AMAZON AS WELL.

MANDEEP: I THINK EVERY LARGE E-COMMERCE PROVIDER WILL BE VERY PROTECTIVE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THEIR NETWORK EFFECTS AND THEIR VOTE. PEOPLE ARE USED TO GOING DIRECTLY TO AMAZON AND THE DIRECT TRAFFIC THAT AMAZON HAS ALLOWS THEM TO SHOW ADS WHICH IS A VERY BIG BUSINESS FOR THEM. IF AGENTS TAKE THE LEAD GENERATION OUT OF, YOU KNOW, THE DIRECT TRAFFIC THAT THESE MARKETPLACES HAVE, THAT WILL BE A BIG DEAL IN TERMS OF OWNING THE CUSTOMER AND HAVING THAT DIRECT INTERACTION.

THAT IS WHERE THE AGENTS ARE SOLVING A REAL PROBLEM IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE FRICTION POINTS THAT ARE THERE WHEN YOU ARE SHOPPING ON AMAZON OR SHOPPING ON ANY OTHER MARKETPLACE BECAUSE IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME TO FIND THE RIGHT PRODUCT. AGENTS CAN DO IT ON YOUR BEHALF. BOTH NEED EACH OTHER BUT CLEARLY, YOU KNOW, THE INCUMBENTS WOULD TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY LAUNCH THEIR OWN AGENTS WHICH I EXPECT AMAZON TO DO THAT AND APPLE AND GOOGLE.

THEY ALL LAUNCH THEIR AGENTS. THE QUESTION IS WHICH ONE WILL HAVE THE STICKINESS AND THE NETWORK EFFECTS WE HAVE SEEN IN INTERNET MARKETPLACES. SHERY: IT'S REALLY GIVING THE MARKETS ANOTHER BOOST WHEN IT COMES TO THE AI TRADE, RIGHT? HOW MUCH OF WHAT META HAS DONE RIGHT NOW IS THE EVIDENCE THAT WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE AI AND R.O.I. SORT OF CONNECTION, ESPECIALLY AFTER THOSE $200 BILLION OF INVESTMENTS OR SO FROM META?

MANDEEP: WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE META OUT WHAT -- FIGURE OUT WHAT META WAS GOING TO DO. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO PERSONALIZED AGENT USE CASE. FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, I THINK ALL THE COMPUTE CAPACITY THAT THEY HAVE BUILT FOR INTERNAL CONSUMPTION COULD BE PUT TO GOOD USE IF THIS OFFERING TAKES OFF AND META MAY NOT HAVE LAUNCH A CLOUD OFFERING A LOT OF US WERE EXPECTING TO HAPPEN SOMETIME SOON. HAIDI: GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US, MANDEEP SINGH.

STILL AHEAD ON THE ASIA TRADE, VIETNAM'S PRESIDENT TELLS US EXCLUSIVELY THAT A U.S. TRADE DEAL IS CLOSE WITH NONTARIFF BARRIERS IN SHIPMENTS AMONG THE FINAL STICKING POINTS.

WE ALSO DO NOT A