Shares slipped in Asia and oil prices jumped Thursday as conflict escalated in the Middle East, with Iran and the US launching fresh attacks. US futures edged higher. The United States launched more airstrikes on Iran, and Iran responded by firing at Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, a day after US President Donald Trump said their temporary ceasefire was “over.”
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 reversed some of its losses from earlier in the week, gaining 1.6% to 67,849.98, helped by technology-related shares. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 5%, and artificial intelligence-focused investment holding firm SoftBank Group rose 0.4%.
South Korea’s Kospi index zigzagged, rising 0.1% to 7,255.09 despite a loss earlier in the day. It fell 5.4% on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics was down 1.3% on Thursday, while memory chip maker SK Hynix gained 3.6%.
The Shanghai Composite index traded 0.5% lower at 3,952.49, after China’s producer price index rose 4.1% in June compared to a year earlier. That was higher than May’s 3.9%, as some economists attribute the accelerating inflation to rising costs due to the Iran war.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.8% to 24,011.61. Shares of Apple supplier Luxshare fell 5% in its trading debut in Hong Kong. Chinese AI company Zhipu, or Z.ai, surged 11.5% after it said it’s raising about $4 billion through a share sale.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5% to 8,745.20.
