BANGKOK — Shares advanced in Europe and Asia on Wednesday after the U.S. stock market rallied to records, helped by strong corporate earnings reports and hopes for a deal setting the stage for talks that might eventually lead to an end to the war in Iran. Oil prices resumed their ascent, with Brent crude gaining more than 1 per cent. In early European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 per cent to 26,268.90, while the CAC 40 in Paris edged less than 0.1 per cent higher. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 per cent at 10,898.40. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2 per cent. Benchmarks jumped more than 3 per cent in Tokyo and Seoul as shares in computer chipmakers and other AI-related companies advanced. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 3.7 per cent to 66,300.44, with chipmaker Kioxia surging 4.2 per cent while chip testing equipment maker Advantest soared 8.8 per cent. The Kospi in Seoul shot up 3.8 per cent to 6,598.26, led by a 5.8 per cent gain for memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Tech giant Samsung Electronics advanced 2.5 per cent. Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 2.9 per cent as major chipmaker TSMC gained 3.7 per cent. “Clearly today the market is rallying on the back of AI stocks. You look across the other sectors, there’s a bit of activity here and there, but really the focus has been back on semiconductors, technology and AI,” said Neil Newman, head of strategy for Astris Advisory Japan. Elsewhere in the region, the Shanghai Composite index picked up 1.5 per cent to 3,878.43, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.4 per cent to 25,915.82. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9 per cent to 9,227.80. The Sensex slipped 0.2 per cent after the Reserve Bank of India chose to keep its key repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent, saying the economy was resilient despite shocks from the Iran war, but risks remained. Declines in oil prices have buoyed shares. Brent crude, the international standard, reversed early losses, gaining 1.4 per cent to US$80.45 per barrel early Wednesday. On Tuesday, it sank 5.3 per cent as hopes rose for progress toward a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices swung between $72 and $102 through July on uncertainty about when calm in the Middle East would allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again to deliver crude around the world. Iran and Oman were inching toward a deal to reopen the strait, though that appears to be contingent on the United States lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports. “All in all, it’s looking much brighter. We’re still not completely out of the woods yet, but I think we’re seeing some route out of this now and it’s been reflected in the markets,” Newman said. U.S. benchmark crude picked up 0.7 per cent to $76.29 per barrel. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 shot up 1.8 per cent, topping its prior all-time high set in June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.7 per cent to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.6 per cent. Profits are piling up for companies as easing oil prices assuage worries about inflation. Palantir Technologies helped lead the way, surging 29.5 per cent after its CEO Alex Karp said its overall revenue leaped 93 per cent in what he called an “otherworldly” quarter. Such reports have helped to allay worries over a possible bubble in stock prices because of the AI boom. Shares in Chipotle Mexican Group tumbled 9.7 per cent, however, on fears that its future profits could be hurt after the chain removed jalapeños from some of its restaurants following a salmonella outbreak. Chipotle said that Minnesota health officials have no ongoing concerns with it. Reports on the U.S. economy showed it remains resilient even though inflation is worse than anyone would like. U.S. employers were advertising nearly 7.4 million job openings at the end of June, the Labor Department said, a slight slowdown from May’s level but close to economists’ expectations. In other dealings early Wednesday, the U.S. dollar slipped to 157.81 Japanese yen from 157.74 yen. The euro rose to $1.1535 from $1.1532. ___ Elaine Kurtenbach, The Associated Press Associated Press writer Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.
