Asian stocks surged on Thursday as some vessels resumed passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while forecast-beating results at Nvidia and a suspended workers' strike at Samsung Electronics lifted shares of chipmakers.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 2.6%, snapping a four-day streak of losses. Korea's leapt more than 7%, Taiwanese shares rose 3.5% and Chinese blue-chips gained 1.1%.
Brent crude futures edged up 0.6% to $105.68 a barrel in Asia trade, retracing declines after three supertankers passed through the strait on Wednesday and Iran consolidated its control of the waterway.
Supply concerns persist though following a U.S. inventory drawdown. On Wednesday, Wall Street rose 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5% after three days of losses.
Gains came as President Donald Trump said the U.S. was ready for further action against Iran if no peace deal was reached, but indicated Washington could wait a few days to “get the right answers.”
"Oil prices declined and other major markets rallied, as investors took comfort from headlines quoting Trump saying the U.S. was in the 'final stages' with Iran," analysts from Westpac wrote in a research report.
Asian chipmakers' shares rose after Nvidia's better-than-expected revenue forecast on Wednesday as CEO Jensen Huang aimed to reassure investors that the world's most valuable company can sustain blockbuster growth in demand for its flagship AI chips.
"The chip landscape remains Nvidia’s world with everybody else paying rent, as more sovereigns and enterprises wait in line for Nvidia's chips," said Dan Ives, Global Head of Technology Research at Wedbush Securities in New York.
However, Nvidia's shares fell 1.3% in extended trading, while S&P 500 e-mini futures slipped 0.2%.
"The market’s reaction was relatively muted by its own lofty standards," said Tony Sycamore, Market Analyst at IG in Sydney.
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics shares surged 6% after the electronics giant's union said it would suspend industrial action upon reaching a tentative pay deal with the company, averting a strike by nearly 48,000 workers that threatened South Korea's economy and global chip supply.
However, the rally was blunted after a shareholder group said the management's tentative pay deal with its labour union was illegal.
Japan's Nikkei 225 share jumped 3.6% after S&P Global's flash manufacturing PMI showed expansion in May, albeit at a slower pace than a month earlier, slipping to 54.5 from 55.1 in April, but still firmly above the mark separating growth from contraction.
"By and large, external demand has turned out exceptionally strong despite the U.S.-Iran conflict," analysts from DBS wrote in a research report.
Separately, Japanese exports rose 14.8% year-on-year in April, Finance Ministry data showed, rising for an eighth straight month and confounding fears of stagflation in the global economy. Against the yen, the dollar was flat at 158.84 yen.
The Aussie dollar sank 0.7% to $0.7105 after Australian employment unexpectedly fell in April, while the jobless rate jumped to the highest since late 2021.
Flash PMI data showed activity in the country's service industry slowed to 47.7 in May from 50.7 a month earlier, though a corresponding manufacturing gauge held at 50.2, just above the mark separating expansion from contraction.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's 28-29 April meeting showed policymakers' concerns about inflation intensified last month, with a growing number open to the possibility that they may need to raise interest rates.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 21st of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 22nd of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
President Donald Trump said the United States will target Iran’s heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain site “pretty soon” as he meets with Lebanese president Michel Aoun. Meanwhile, U.S. forces carried out a 10th consecutive night of strikes on Iran while Tehran continues to target Gulf countries.
Overnight U.S. strikes caused blackouts in southwestern Iran and hit the northwestern city of Tabriz for the first time. Separately, a U.S. soldier died in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of an unexploded Iranian drone.
The United States has bombed Iran for an 11th consecutive night as the Pentagon says the war’s cost reach $37.5 billion. President Donald Trump threatens a heavy strike on the suspected Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site. Tehran warns that any attack could trigger a wider regional escalation.
China's Foreign Ministry has said it is closely monitoring the United Kingdom's nationalisation of British Steel. Prior to the British government fully taking over the loss-making company on Thursday, it was previously owned by Chinese private steelmaker Jingye.
Apple is closing in on Nvidia's position as the world's most valuable publicly traded company, as investors increasingly bet the iPhone maker can turn artificial intelligence into sustained earnings growth.
AI-powered shopping assistant Phia has been accused of using "cookie stuffing" to claim affiliate commissions for purchases it did not generate, according to a Bloomberg investigation. The company says the issue has now been resolved.
The UK government has nationalised British Steel, taking full ownership of the country's only primary steelmaker from its Chinese owners to safeguard the future of the UK's steel industry.
Saudi Arabia is moving crude through the Red Sea port of Yanbu at close to maximum capacity this week, as tensions with Yemen's Houthis add to broader concerns over Gulf shipping routes, according to data and industry sources cited by Reuters.
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