Asian Stocks Advance on Tech, Oil Climbs on Iran: Markets Wrap

Asian stocks climbed as traders boosted bets on the AI trade, brushing aside Middle East tensions even after President Donald Trump’s rejection of Iran’s latest peace proposal pushed up oil prices.

MSCI’s Asia Pacific equities gauge climbed as much as 1.1% to an intraday high, before paring some of those gains. South Korea, a poster child for AI investment, jumped as much as 5% to a record. A Bloomberg gauge of Asian chipmakers hit a peak after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged to an all-time high on Friday. Video game maker Nintendo Co. fell as much as 10% in Tokyo after warning about higher chip prices.