Asian Shares Rise as Oil Prices Surge Amid Ongoing Iran-US Tensions

BANGKOK: Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday after U.S. stocks slipped a bit further from their records, while oil prices advanced as doubts persisted over when the war with Iran will allow crude to flow freely again. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% to 67334.94. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 4% to 6,597.90 on renewed buying of computer chipmakers. Samsung Electronics gained 7.7% and memory chipmaker SK Hynix was up 7.1%. Taiwan's Taiex advanced 0.8%. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.3% to 3,946.51, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 1.2% to 25,352.13. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6% to 9,197.00. The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was up 0.9% at $89.67 early Wednesday. U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 0.9% to $83.98. Iran has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's comment that since Iran is seeking compensation as part of any talks on ending the war, he would demand the same. The United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and kept much of the world's oil pent up in the Middle East. Last month alone, Brent's price veered between $72 and $102 per barrel.