Asian shares climbed on Thursday as semiconductors got a respite from heavy selling, though gains were capped by a surge in oil prices as a resumption of hostilities in the Gulf reignited inflation fears and hammered bonds.Oil prices rose for a third straight session after President Donald Trump said the interim agreement with Iran to end the war was "over". US military also launched fresh strikes on Iran for a second day to open the Strait of Hormuz, although Trump later said he did not expect a return to a full-fledged war, helping soothe concerns.
Brent crude futures rose 0.8 percent to $78.65 a barrel and were up 9 percent this week to cross above $80 a barrel for the first time since June 22. That knocked global bond markets and boosted bets that the Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates this year to tame inflation, with Fed funds futures now implying 38 basis points of policy tightening this year, back to where they were a week ago.
Wall Street initially fell on Trump's comments but climbed off session lows, with the Nasdaq eking out a small gain of 0.2 percent. Chip giant Nvidia rallied 3.6 percent after media reports that China plans to allow its top AI firms to buy a limited number of the company's H200 chips.
