{"id":61663,"date":"2026-05-07T00:38:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/softbank-surges-on-ai-optimism-as-australia-mandates-gas-reserves-and-saudi-arabia-halts-u-s-gulf-mission\/61663\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T00:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:38:34","slug":"softbank-surges-on-ai-optimism-as-australia-mandates-gas-reserves-and-saudi-arabia-halts-u-s-gulf-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/softbank-surges-on-ai-optimism-as-australia-mandates-gas-reserves-and-saudi-arabia-halts-u-s-gulf-mission\/61663\/","title":{"rendered":"SoftBank Surges on AI Optimism as Australia Mandates Gas Reserves and Saudi Arabia Halts U.S. Gulf Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>SoftBank Group (<a href=\"\/stock\/9984.T\">9984.T<\/a>)<\/strong> shares surged <strong>18%<\/strong> to touch their daily upper limit, driven by a global AI rally and the unveiling of a <strong>$100 billion<\/strong> AI and robotics venture.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Albanese government<\/strong> in Australia has officially mandated a <strong>20% domestic gas reservation<\/strong> for East Coast exporters, effective <strong>July 2027<\/strong>, to address persistent energy shortages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>BlackRock (<a href=\"\/stock\/BLK\">BLK<\/a>)<\/strong> is navigating its first major private credit default in China, a <strong>$27.5 million<\/strong> delinquency that serves as a high-stakes test for Asia&#39;s growing private lending market.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong> effectively grounded the U.S. military\u2019s &quot;Project Freedom&quot; maritime initiative by suspending access to its bases and airspace, forcing a sudden strategic pause by the Trump administration.<\/li>\n<li>Japan\u2019s <strong>Tosoh Corp (<a href=\"\/stock\/4042.T\">4042.T<\/a>)<\/strong> announced plans to mass-produce high-speed plastic optical fiber that can double data transfer speeds for AI centers while significantly reducing power consumption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>AI Infrastructure and Market Rallies<\/h2>\n<p><strong>SoftBank Group (<a href=\"\/stock\/9984.T\">9984.T<\/a>)<\/strong> led a massive technology rally in Japan, with its stock price jumping <strong>18%<\/strong> as markets reopened following the Golden Week break. The surge was fueled by a record-breaking performance from its subsidiary <strong>Arm Holdings (<a href=\"\/stock\/ARM\">ARM<\/a>)<\/strong> and investor enthusiasm for &quot;Roze,&quot; a planned <strong>$100 billion<\/strong> AI and robotics entity. <em>Market sentiment remains highly bullish on firms providing the physical backbone for generative AI, shifting focus from software to hardware and infrastructure.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In a related breakthrough, <strong>Tosoh Corp (<a href=\"\/stock\/4042.T\">4042.T<\/a>)<\/strong> and Keio University have moved toward mass production of fluoropolymer-based plastic optical cables. These cables are designed to replace traditional glass fiber in short-range data center links, offering <strong>twice the speed<\/strong> and lower electricity requirements. Meanwhile, <strong>Fujikura Ltd (<a href=\"\/stock\/5803.T\">5803.T<\/a>)<\/strong> is also tripling its fiber capacity with a <strong>300 billion yen ($1.9 billion)<\/strong> investment to meet the surging demand from AI clusters in the U.S. and Japan.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy Sovereignty and Regional Crisis<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Albanese government<\/strong> has finalized a landmark policy requiring Australian gas exporters to reserve <strong>20% of their production<\/strong> for the domestic market. Resources Minister <strong>Madeleine King<\/strong> confirmed the mandate will begin in <strong>July 2027<\/strong> and apply to prospective contracts signed after December 2025. <em>The move is intended to decouple Australian domestic prices from volatile global spot markets, which have been strained by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, <strong>ASEAN leaders<\/strong> convened at an emergency summit to discuss a deepening energy crisis across Southeast Asia. The discussions come as regional stability is threatened by a reported &quot;Iran war&quot; that has disrupted traditional shipping lanes. The summit aims to coordinate a unified response to fuel shortages and price spikes that are currently hampering industrial output across the bloc.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Friction and Security Alerts<\/h2>\n<p>U.S. President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> has paused &quot;Project Freedom,&quot; a mission to escort commercial vessels through the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, following a strategic blockade by <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong>. According to NBC, Riyadh revoked the U.S. military\u2019s ability to use <strong>Prince Sultan Airbase<\/strong> and its airspace, rendering the operation unviable. <em>This diplomatic rift highlights a growing assertiveness from Gulf allies who are increasingly wary of direct military escalation with Iran.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In Northern Europe, <strong>Latvia<\/strong> issued high-level drone alerts after two aircraft originating from Russia entered its airspace. One drone crashed into an oil storage facility in <strong>Rezekne<\/strong>, approximately 40 kilometers from the border, sparking a fire that was eventually extinguished by emergency services. In the Middle East, the <strong>IDF<\/strong> reported that an explosive drone strike in southern Lebanon seriously injured one soldier and lightly wounded three others, further escalating border tensions.<\/p>\n<h2>Financial Stability and Diplomacy<\/h2>\n<p><strong>BlackRock (<a href=\"\/stock\/BLK\">BLK<\/a>)<\/strong> is working to recover funds from <strong>Metcold Holdings<\/strong>, a Shanghai-based borrower that defaulted on a <strong>$27.5 million<\/strong> principal loan. This default is the first for BlackRock\u2019s <strong>Asia-Pacific Private Credit Opportunities Fund II<\/strong> and is being closely watched as a bellwether for the <strong>$1.8 trillion<\/strong> private credit asset class. <em>Analysts suggest that the outcome of this recovery effort will determine whether international investors continue to view Asia as a &quot;safe haven&quot; for private debt.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>On the diplomatic front, U.S. Senator <strong>Steve Daines<\/strong> met with China\u2019s top diplomat <strong>Wang Yi<\/strong> in Beijing to advocate for stability. Daines emphasized a desire to <strong>&quot;de-escalate, not decouple,&quot;<\/strong> seeking mutual respect between the two superpowers amid ongoing trade and technology friction. Additionally, the <strong>EU<\/strong> has reached a landmark agreement to ban AI applications used to create <strong>non-consensual sexualized deepfakes<\/strong>, marking a significant step in the global regulation of generative artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways SoftBank Group (9984.T) shares surged 18% to touch their daily upper limit, driven by a global AI rally [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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