NewzTOKYO (AP) — Asian shares rose in early Wednesday trading, boosted by optimism about artificial intelligence and computer chips despite ongoing worries about the war in Iran. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.3% in morning trading to 66,318.81. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9% to 8,791.30.
South Korea’s Kospi lost earlier gains to be little changed, up less than 0.1% at 6,875.84. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.1% to 24,551.47, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,843.26. SoftBank Group Corp., which invests in OpenAI, surged about 6% in Tokyo morning trading.
Also gaining were Japanese chips-related stocks like Renesas Electronics and Rohm Co. Stocks closed modestly lower on Wall Street Tuesday as another increase in long-term Treasury yields weighed on the market. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% after wavering between modest gains and losses for much of the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%. Major indexes shifted lower after a quiet morning as rising bond yields undercut much of the heavy lifting being done by several technology behemoths. Nvidia, the market’s most influential stock, gave up an early gain and closed 0.7% lower.
Oil prices are swinging sharply as the U.S. war with Iran drags on, helping to push Treasury yields to their highest levels in 24 years. crude added 0.23% to $89.59 a barrel.
Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 0.87% to $103.48 a barrel. Brent is well above the roughly $72 it cost before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
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