Asian shares edge higher after Wall Street climb, even as Brent oil keeps rising

Asian shares mostly rose Wednesday following a Wall Street rally, with Japan's Nikkei 225 climbing 1.9% to 67,511.12 and South Korea's Kospi surging 4.6% to 7,061.36, even as Brent crude oil rose $1.04 to $92.05 a barrel. Gains for AI-related stocks like Micron Technology (up 12.2%) and Nvidia (up 2%) lifted the S&P 500 0.9%, though analyst Stephen Innes warned that higher oil prices and a weaker yen create a difficult situation for energy-importing Japan.

TOKYO AP — Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday following a rally on Wall Street, despite concerns about higher oil prices and inflation. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.9% to 67,511.12, after the government reported that both imports and exports rose https://apnews.com/article/japan-trade-iran-oil-exports-imports-bf2939b06eff812923a0e792bcf107ed last month from a year earlier, as the weakening yen raised the value of both when converted from dollars to yen. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 8,830.60. South Korea's Kospi surged 4.6% to 7,061.36. The Hang Seng dipped 0.7% to 24,947.30, while the Shanghai Composite gained nearly 0.5% to 3,882.95. More gains https://apnews.com/article/stocks-market-ai-oil-iran-war-15939a01f378bcec5eec2868e8100ca9 for makers of computer chips and other companies benefiting from the artificial-intelligence https://apnews.com/hub/artificial-intelligence boom carried Wall Street higher. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 385 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%. AI stocks once again were at the center of the action, and they rose for a second straight day after tumbling the week before https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-ai-iran-trump-rates-65449e9565fba441a617f9517e097f5a . After rocketing higher because of the boom in investment https://apnews.com/article/economy-gdp-consumer-spending-trump-iran-war-a3ecd4459a091458fd9b61772d79b7da in AI chips and data centers, they've come under pressure https://apnews.com/article/tech-stocks-ai-investments-8a0ff4c95d5cae6f65c6e2ba03047058 in recent weeks on worries that they shot too high. Micron Technology jumped 12.2% and added to its 1.9% gain from the day before, coming off its 13.3% drop from last week. Nvidia added 2%, and they were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. The gains came despite more climbs for oil prices, which followed continued attacks between the United States and Iran https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-hormuz-strait-war-july-21-2026-1664f6a4dad005a99771b2ad15213585 . In energy trading early Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude added 85 cents to $85.19 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1.04 to $92.05 a barrel. "Oil makes the situation more difficult because Japan imports most of its energy. A weaker yen and higher crude prices arrive together like two waves hitting the same seawall," said analyst Stephen Innes, a former trader. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was unchanged at 163.14 Japanese yen. The euro cost $1.1406, inching up from $1.1404. Rising oil prices are again pushing inflation https://apnews.com/article/inflation-trump-food-prices-gas-53d221aa918c466172af494ba7debc00 higher, just as increases for prices were slowing more than economists expected. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve https://apnews.com/article/warsh-federal-reserve-inflation-4a1da547d64ae3d54fba29161b213601 and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices https://apnews.com/article/bond-market-warning-wall-street-trump-9ef90df1ae1cd1283f8cf04221611112 for stocks and other investments. AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report. Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press