MANILA – Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday after US stocks hit records again following a brief stumble.
Markets in mainland China gained more than 1% as they reopened following a weeklong holiday, while U.S. futures declined.
Oil prices decreased following an agreement between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday to halt the conflict in Gaza, allowing for the release of hostages in the upcoming days in exchange for Palestinian detainees.
The acceptance of parts of a proposal by the Trump administration marks the most significant progress in months concerning the devastating war that has lasted over two years, helping to lower risks in the unstable region.
U.S. benchmark crude slid 44 cents to $62.11 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 38 cents to $65.87 per barrel.
Gold shed some of its stellar gains but was still at $4,048.20 per ounce as of Thursday morning.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.3% to 48,369.90 as SoftBank Group surged over 11% amid its further expansion into artificial intelligence.
On Wednesday, SoftBank announced a $5.4 billion deal to acquire the robotics unit of Swiss engineering firm ABB.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index increased slightly by less than 0.1% to 26,840.95, while the Shanghai Composite index rose by 1.2% to 3,931.07 during its first session since October 1.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,965.90 while Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.3%.
On Wednesday, Wall Street resumed climbing and the price of gold pushed further past $4,000 per ounce.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 6,735.72, reaching another record, after breaking a seven-day streak the previous day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1% to 46,601.78, while the Nasdaq composite rose 1.1% to reach a new high of 23,043.38.
Recent trading has been relatively subdued following the most recent U.S. government shutdown. This closure has postponed the release of several significant economic reports that typically influence the market. Without these reports or other indications to shift expectations regarding interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, stocks have remained stable, contributing to the market’s rise since April.
Another force that’s pushed the market to records is the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.
Advanced Micro Devices surged another 11.4%, extending its gains from earlier in the week following the announcement of an AI-related agreement. AMD stood out as the top performer in the S&P 500.
Right behind was Dell Technologies, which piled more gains onto its own rally from Tuesday, when it talked up its growth opportunities related to AI. Dell rose 9.1%.
Poet Technologies climbed 17% and likewise added to its surge from Tuesday, when it said it raised $75 million in investment to accelerate its growth. The company sells high-speed optical engines and other products used in the AI systems market.
AI-related stocks have broadly been on a tear. Nvidia has soared nearly 41% so far this year. Oracle is up 73.2% over the same time, while Palantir Technologies has more than doubled with a nearly 143% surge.
The performances have been so strong that criticism is rising about prices having gone too far, like they did during the 2000 dot-com mania. That bubble ultimately imploded, and the S&P 500 halved in value.
In other dealings early Thursday, the U.S. dollar fell to 152.57 Japanese yen from 152.70 yen. The euro rose to $1.1646 from $1.1629.
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AP Business Writers Stan Choe, Matt Ott and Kelvin Chan contributed.
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