Oil prices ease and Asian shares gain on hopes for Mideast deal, as
companies report strong profits
[August 05, 2026] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares surged and oil prices slipped Wednesday
after the U.S. stock market rallied to records, helped by strong
corporate earnings reports and hopes for a deal setting the stage for
talks that might eventually lead to an end to the war in Iran.
Benchmarks jumped more than 3% in Tokyo and Seoul as shares in computer
chipmakers and other AI-related companies advanced.
Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 3.7% to 66,300.44, with chipmaker Kioxia
surging 4.6% while chip testing equipment maker Advantest soared 8.7%.
The Kospi in Seoul shot up 3.8% to 6,598.26, led by a 7.4% gain for
memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Tech giant Samsung Electronics advanced 3.5%.
Taiwan's Taiex advanced 2.9% as major chipmaker TSMC gained 3.7%.
“Clearly today the market is rallying on the back of AI stocks. You look
across the other sectors, there’s a bit of activity here and there but
really the focus has been back on semiconductors, technology and AI,"
said Neil Newman, head of strategy for Astris Advisory Japan.
Elsewhere in the region, the Shanghai Composite index picked up 1.4% to
3,874.40, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4%, to 25,951.68.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9% to 9,227.80.
The Sensex rose 0.2% after the Reserve Bank of India chose to keep its
key repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, saying the economy was resilient
despite shocks from the Iran war, but risks remained.
Declines for oil prices have buoyed shares.
Brent crude, the international standard, lost 0.5% to $78.99 per barrel
early Wednesday. On Tuesday, it sank 5.3% as hopes rose for progress
toward a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices swung
between $72 and $102 through July on uncertainty about when calm in the
Middle East would allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf
again to deliver crude around the world.
Iran and Oman were inching toward a deal to reopen the strait, though
that appears to be contingent on the United States lifting its blockade
on Iran’s ports.
"All in all, it’s looking much brighter. We’re still not completely out
of the woods yet, but I think we’re seeing some route out of this now
and it’s been reflected in the markets,” Newman said.
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Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock
Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana
Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 U.S. benchmark crude shed 0.9% to
$75.08 per barrel.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 shot up 1.8%, topping its prior all-time
high set in June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.7% to its
own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite jumped
2.6%.
Profits are piling up for companies as easing oil prices assuage
worries about inflation.
Palantir Technologies helped lead the way, surging 29.5% after its
CEO Alex Karp said its overall revenue leaped 93% in what he called
an “otherworldly” quarter.
Such reports have helped to allay worries over a possible bubble in
stock prices because of the AI boom.
Caterpillar climbed 5.6% after the heavy-equipment maker likewise
reported stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected. It also
is benefiting from the AI boom through increased orders for turbines
used to power data centers, among other things.
Stocks of computer chip companies also strengthened. Nvidia gained
2.6%, Broadcom jumped 6.6% and Micron Technology surged 7.6%.
Shares in Chipotle Mexican Group tumbled 9.7%, however, on fears
that its future profits could be hurt after the chain removed
jalapeños from some of its restaurants following a salmonella
outbreak. Chipotle said that Minnesota health officials have no
ongoing concerns with it.
Reports on the U.S. economy showed it remains resilient even though
inflation is worse than anyone would like. U.S. employers were
advertising nearly 7.4 million job openings at the end of June, the
Labor Department said, a slight slowdown from May’s level but close
to economists’ expectations.
In other dealings early Wednesday, the U.S. dollar slipped to 157.61
Japanese yen from 157.74 yen. The euro rose to $1.1539 from $1.1532.
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Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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