Oil prices jump after US strikes on Iran, while shares in Asia are mixed

Oil prices jump more than 3% after US strikes on Iran, while shares in Asia are mixed 1 of 5 | A screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) 2 of 5 | Dealers talk near the screens showing foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) 3 of 5 | Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co., right, stock price at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) 4 of 5 | A dealer watches computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) 5 of 5 | A member of media stands near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) By ELAINE KURTENBACH Updated 7:59 AM MESZ, July 8, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday and oil prices surged more than 3% after the U.S. launched strikes on Iran following attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 3.2% to $76.54 a barrel early Wednesday, while U.S. benchmark crude added 3.2% to $72.72 a barrel. Both had declined recently to the levels they were at before the war with Iran began in late February. The flareups despite a commitment to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict have added to uncertainty over oil prices after they fell from their peak well above $100 during the war. They also have coincided with waves of worries that the craze for Artificial Intelligence-related shares has pushed prices beyond the productivity gains and profits likely to result from massive investments in computer chip production capacity and data centers. “As such, geopolitical headlines will likely determine market sentiment over the coming hours. A further deterioration in the situation could weigh further on equity valuations along with rising stress in technology,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary. Wall Street banks are sky-high about SpaceX, but investors remain cautious 2 MIN READ AI stocks sink and drag markets lower worldwide 2 MIN READ Rebounding AI stocks send the S&P 500 within 1% of its record 2 MIN READ In share trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.2% to 67,426.47, while the Kospi in South Korea shed 5.6%, to 7,226,48. The South Korean index has soared and then fallen back, briefly surpassing the 9,000 level last month and then succumbing to bouts of heavy selling of big AI-related tech shares like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Samsung fell 6.7% early Wednesday after dropping about 7% the day before. SK Hynix shed early gains to drop 3.6%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 2.9% to 24,178.30. Hong Kong traded shares of Chinese AI model startup Zhipu, known also as Z.ai and traded as Knowledge Atlas Technology, rose 14% on Wednesday. A six-month lock up period for “cornerstone” investors after its $558 million trading debut in Hong Kong in early January expires this week. State-owned China National Radio reported late Tuesday that nearly 70% of Zhipu’s cornerstone investors are committed to stay on, despite previous worries that the lock up period expiration could trigger a sell-off of shares. Zhipu’s share price has risen more than 1,300% since its January trading debut in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite index declined 0.3% to 3,978.80. Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5% to 8,764.70, while India’s Sensex lost 0.5%. On Tuesday, the roller-coaster ride for AI stocks whipped back down, dragging Wall Street lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 7,503.85, though the majority of stocks within the index rose. The drops for stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry dragged the Nasdaq composite 1.2% lower to 25,818.69, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2%, from its record to close at 52,925.15. Advanced Micro Devices sank 6.5% and Intel shed 9.7%. Micron Technology lost 4.7%. SpaceX, which owns the xAI business, fell 6.8% in its first day of trading after it was included in the Nasdaq 100 index. Rivian Automotive dropped 18.1% after the electric vehicle company said it’s selling 75 million shares of its stock, a move that dilutes the ownership stakes of earlier shareholders. In other trading early Wednesday, the U.S. dollar rose to 162.27 Japanese yen from 162.11 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1421 from $1.1414. AP Business Writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report. ELAINE KURTENBACH Based in Bangkok, Kurtenbach is the AP’s business editor for Asia, helping to improve and expand our coverage of regional economies, climate change and the transition toward carbon-free energy. She has been covering economic, social, environmental and political trends in China, Japan and Southeast Asia throughout her career. twitter mailto