Asian shares rose in early Wednesday trading, boosted by optimism about artificial intelligence and computer chips despite ongoing worries about the war in Iran.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.3% in morning trading to 66,318.81. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9% to 8,791.30. South Korea's Kospi lost earlier gains to be little changed, up less than 0.1% at 6,875.84. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.1% to 24,551.47, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,843.26.
SoftBank Group Corp., which invests in OpenAI, surged about 6% in Tokyo morning trading. Also gaining were Japanese chips-related stocks like Renesas Electronics and Rohm Co.