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BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday and oil prices surged more than 3% after the U.S. launched strikes on Iran following attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. futures were little changed.
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 3.2% to $76.54 a barrel early Wednesday, while U.S. benchmark crude added 3.2% to $72.72 a barrel. Both had declined recently to the levels they were at before the war with Iran began in late February.
The flareups despite a commitment to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict have added to uncertainty over oil prices after they fell from their peak well above $100 during the war. They also have coincided with waves of worries that the craze for artificial intelligence-related shares has pushed prices beyond the productivity gains and profits likely to result from massive investments in computer chip production capacity and data centers.
“As such, geopolitical headlines will likely determine market sentiment over the coming hours. A further deterioration in the situation could weigh further on equity valuations along with rising stress in technology,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary.
In share trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.2% to 67,426.47, while the Kospi in South Korea shed 5.6%, to 7,226,48.
The South Korean index has soared and then fallen back, briefly surpassing the 9,000 level last month and then succumbing to bouts of heavy selling of big AI-related tech shares like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Samsung fell 6.7% early Wednesday after dropping about 7% the day before. SK Hynix shed early gains to drop 3.6%.
Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.6%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 2.9% to 24,178.30.
Hong Kong traded shares of Chinese AI model startup Zhipu, known also as Z.ai and traded as Knowledge Atlas Technology, rose 14% on Wednesday.
A six-month lock up period for “cornerstone” investors after its $558 million trading debut in Hong Kong in early January expires this week. State-owned China National Radio reported late Tuesday that nearly 70% of Zhipu’s cornerstone investors are committed to stay on, despite previous worries that the lock up period expiration could trigger a sell-off of shares. Zhipu’s share price has risen more than 1,300% since its January trading debut in Hong Kong.
The Shanghai Composite index declined 0.3% to 3,978.80.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5% to 8,764.70, while India’s Sensex lost 0.5%.
On Tuesday, the roller-coaster ride for AI stocks whipped back down, dragging Wall Street lower.
