SINGAPORE, May 21 - Stocks rose on Thursday as some vessels resumed passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while Nvidia's better-than-expected results and the suspension of a workers' strike at Samsung Electronics lifted shares of chipmakers.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 1.2%, snapping a four-day losing streak, with the KOSPI surging more than 4%.
Brent crude futures edged up 0.7% to $105.76 a barrel in Asia trade, retracing declines after three supertankers passed through the strait on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.5% after three days of declines. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was ready to proceed with further attacks on Iran if Tehran did not agree to a peace deal, but suggested Washington could wait a few days.
"Oil prices declined and other major markets rallied, as investors took comfort from headlines quoting Trump saying the U.S. was in the 'final stages' with Iran," analysts from Westpac wrote.
Asian chipmakers' shares rose after Nvidia's better-than-expected revenue forecast. CEO Jensen Huang aimed to reassure investors that demand for its AI chips can sustain blockbuster growth.
"The chip landscape remains Nvidia's world with everybody else paying rent, as more sovereigns and enterprises wait in line for Nvidia's chips," said Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities.
However, Nvidia's shares fell 1.1% in extended trading, while S&P 500 e-mini futures slipped 0.5%.
"The market's reaction was relatively muted by its own lofty standards," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG. "The lack of any China sales in the outlook and guidance that was only modestly ahead of expectations left some investors wanting more."
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics shares surged more than 6% after the union agreed to a tentative pay deal, averting a strike by nearly 48,000 workers that threatened South Korea's economy and global chip supply.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 1.9%, with the flash manufacturing PMI slipping to 54.5 in May from 55.1. Japanese exports rose 14.8% year-on-year in April, the eighth straight monthly gain.
Australian shares were up 1.5% despite mixed data. The services PMI fell to 47.7 in May from 50.7, while the manufacturing gauge held at 50.2.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose 1.9 basis points to 4.588%. Fed minutes showed policymakers' inflation concerns intensified, with growing openness to rate hikes.
Bitcoin was down 0.3% at $77,453.44, while ether was 0.3% lower at $2,127.53.
