Asian chip stocks extended their recent gains on sustained investor interest in the artificial-intelligence trade.
Escalating hostilities in the Middle East pushed Brent crude toward $100 a barrel. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.3%, boosted by gains in the nation’s two chip giants, SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
The advance came after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, known as the SOX, rose 1.3% in US trading on Tuesday.
The broad MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.4%, with the information-technology sector making the biggest contribution. Brent jumped as much as 1.8% to $99.68 a barrel after the US struck Iranian tankers near the vital crude-export hub of Kharg Island, stoking fears of deeper disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
The global crude benchmark is up more than 60% this year and is closing in on the $100-a-barrel mark for the first time since July. Renewed attacks on energy infrastructure stemming from the war between Iran and the US risk keeping oil prices elevated and complicating the outlook for inflation and interest rates.
