Asian stocks rose on Thursday after US technology firms outlined significant capital spending plans that are likely to benefit chipmakers in the region, while the escalating war in the Middle East sent oil prices to six-week highs.Rising oil prices have also renewed inflationary concerns, pushing short-term US Treasury yields to 17-week highs as traders wager the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates sooner rather than later.
Brent crude futures rose 2 percent to US$96 per barrel in early trading after the US launched a new round of strikes on Iran and Yemen's Houthis targeted oil tankers in the Red Sea, widening the scope of a conflict that has cast a shadow on the global markets.
Thierry Wizman, global FX & rates strategist at Macquarie Group, said the rise in oil prices had renewed concern about the impact on global growth.
Nearly five months of war have depleted global stockpiles and stoked inflation worldwide, with analysts warning the closure of both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb in the Red Sea would disrupt shipping routes for more than a quarter of the world's oil and gas.
"The worries about global growth are well-placed, we think," said Wizman.
