Asian shares track Wall Street gains, while oil prices bounce higher

BANGKOK, Aug 10, (AP): Shares were mostly higher Monday in Asia, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 leading advances after stocks rose on Wall Street. Oil prices rose and U.S. futures were little changed. In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.1% to 66,970.22, pulled higher by strong gains for technology companies. Computer chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron climbed 4.1%, while chip testing device maker Advantest rose 6.4%.

In South Korea, the gains were more modest, as the Kospi added 0.7% to 6,299.66 as shares in major chipmakers slipped. Samsung Electronics lost 0.4%, while its smaller rival, memory chipmaker SK Hynix, lost 0.1%. Analysts said foreign investors were selling shares in the Big Tech companies to lock in profits from recent gains and rebalance holdings into other industries, such as defense contractors.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9% to 25,904.94, while the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.7% to 3,966.59. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 9,232.60. Taiwan's Taiex surged 1.6% and the Sensex in India was up 0.2%. Oil prices rose after Israel rejected a deal announced by US President Donald Trump for Gaza.

Details emerged on the potential deal between Iran and Oman on managing the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran suggested that vessels linked to "hostile countries” would be barred. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a government-held port on the country’s Red Sea coast, deepening fears over threats to strategic shipping routes and a potential return to civil war. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.6% to $84.01 per barrel.

US benchmark crude advanced 0.3% to $78.46 per barrel. "Negotiators said that a deal to establish a safe shipping route was close, but Iran may now be exploring just how much it can extract from the US in return,” Bas van Geffen, senior macro strategist for Rabobank, said in a commentary. On Friday, US stocks rose and Treasury yields fell after the government reported that employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs last month.

A weaker jobs market raised hopes the Federal Reserve might wait longer before raising interest rates to fight inflation. That buoyed share prices, pushing every major index to a second straight week of gains and several fresh records. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 7,757.64, topping an all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 54,036.93, just short of the record it set on Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.3% to 26,690.62. Overall, the jobs report dimmed one of the brighter areas of the economy, adding to worries about household spending at a time of high inflation. It included a revision to the figures for June and May that involved slashi