BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday, while the intensifying war with Iran pushed Brent crude past $96 a barrel. South Korea’s Kospi rose 3.7%, to 7,028.66 as investors’ appetite for stocks related to artificial intelligence revived despite a retreat on Wall Street.Samsung Electronics gained 3%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix advanced 3.4%.In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 picked up 0.5% to 66,461.62. Technology companies led gains, with stocks in SoftBank Group climbing 3.3%. The U.S. dollar was trading at 163.05 yen as the Japanese currency wavered near its lowest level in 40 years. Expectations that the gap between U.S. interest rates and Japanese interest rates will widen due to higher inflation in the U.S. have helped to drive the dollar higher against the yen.Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.3% to 25,227.06, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.2% to 3,859.69.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 8,883.00. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 1% and the Sensex in India fell 0.3%.U.S. futures declined after U.S. stock indexes barely budged on Wednesday as oil prices rose 3%. The S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower to 7,498.96, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped less than 0.1%, to 52,218.58.
