Shares fall in Asia after a decline on Wall Street, and oil prices fall more than 1%

Shares were mostly lower Monday in Asia and oil prices fell after rising last week to their highest level in more than four years. Analysts said investors were bracing for earnings reports of big companies and central bank decisions this week that could shake markets. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% to 62,602.86 and the Kospi in Seoul dropped 1.1% to 5,494.29.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng edged 0.2% higher to 23,137.93, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4% to 3,673.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 8,782.30. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.3% to $110.23 a barrel.

benchmark crude sank 1.7% to $101.52 a barrel. On Friday, the price for a barrel of Brent crude rose 3.1% to settle at $116.72, its highest level since June 2022. It has surged from less than $97 since early October.

Also Friday, the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, adding to its decline from a day before and logging its second-straight weekly loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2% after giving up a modest gain. Several AI-related companies rallied, helping ease some of the impact from the broader market slide.

Micron Technology rose 2.5%, Intel gained 1.7%, Microsoft added 0.7%, and Advanced Micro Devices closed 1.7% higher. Stocks that have benefited from the frenzy over AI have been buffeted by waves of selling as investors fret over whether their high prices are justified. Many of those companies have been borrowing to fund investments in AI technology and high interest rates are making those loans more expensive.

Market players are closely watching corporate earnings, looking for a better sense of whether those investments are likely to pay off. Several influential AI-related companies report their latest financial results this week, including Google’s parent, Alphabet, along with Microsoft and Amazon. “This week is less about broad conviction and more about proof.