Asian equities surged on Thursday as oil prices fell back to pre-war levels and strong earnings and forecasts from chip giants Micron and Qualcomm eased some ‌concerns over the AI rally. Tech-heavy markets in Japan and South Korea rose sharply after Micron said its customers had committed $22 billion for its memory chips, while Qualcomm anticipates $15 billion ​in sales from its data centre business by 2029.Oil prices extended their decline as stranded tankers ⁠exited the Strait of Hormuz following an initial ​accord to end the US-Israeli war with Iran, easing supply concerns. Brent crude futures dipped 1.6 per cent to $72.53 a barrel, erasing all of its gain from the war. US West Texas Intermediate fell over 1 per cent to $69.36 a barrel.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 1.6 per cent higher. Japan’s Nikkei rose over 4 per cent while South Korea’s KOSPI gained 5.5 per cent and Taiwan stocks was 0.9 per cent higher.Futures for S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent while Nasdaq futures jumped 1.8 per cent. European futures though were flat.“It doesn’t take much to restore confidence among stock traders, especially when mega themes such as AI are the main driver,” ​said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at StoneX.“Until the wheels truly fall off the global economy, traders will look for any excuse to buy a dip. This week’s excuse was Micron,” he said.Investor concern that valuations ⁠for AI-related companies have become stretched following years of gains has weighed on markets in recent days, leading to volatile sessions.Analysts though remain sceptical of a ‌sustained ​rally in AI stocks as those valuation worries linger.“It’s a positive from Micron,” said Nick Twidale, chief market strategist at ATFX Global in Sydney, who expects a strong move higher on the back of the earnings.“But I’m not sure how long the euphoria ⁠will last across the rest of the sector... I think valuation concerns ​will continue to weigh on sentiment moving forward,” he said.Also aiding sentiment was an announcement ​from South Korea’s SK Hynix on Wednesday of plans to raise up to $29.52 billion through a secondary listing on Nasdaq to capitalise on unending investor appetite for AI stocks.Shares of SK ‌Hynix and Samsung Electronics have powered the KOSPI to record highs ​through the year, taking the year-to-date gains for the index to 112 per cent and making it the best-performing stock market in the world.The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of currencies, was at ​101.6 after reaching 101.80 in the previous session, its highest since May 12, 2025.The strengthening dollar has weighed on gold, which slid below $4,000 an ounce for the first time in 2026. Spot gold last fetched $3,990 per ounce, hovering near its lowest since November. - Reuters