Iran attack on Kuwait kills 1 after latest U.S. strikes, and as Trump says talks ongoing

Oil prices extended gains Wednesday as Middle East peace talks stuttered, though stocks mostly rose on the back of continued demand for all things linked to artificial intelligence.

Despite President Trump’s assurances that the U.S. and Iran are edging closer to ending their three-month-long war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, crude investors appear unmoved as they await solid progress.

Uncertainty about a peace deal pushed oil prices up more than 1%, with both main contracts up around 5% this week.

However, stocks extended their breathtaking rally, fueled by the tech sector and demand for artificial intelligence. Tokyo climbed more than 2%, helped by a more than 11% surge in chipmaker Tokyo Electron, while Advantest also jumped.

Taipei was up a similar amount thanks to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s strong advance.

Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Manila were also up, though Hong Kong, Wellington and Jakarta retreated. Seoul was closed for a holiday.

The gains followed another record for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wall Street, where chipmaker Marvell Technology soared more than 32% after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang hailed it as the next trillion-dollar firm.

Adding to the upbeat mood among equity traders was data showing U.S. job openings jumped in April to their highest level in 23 months.

The reading comes ahead of employment data on Friday that could determine if the Federal Reserve will keep its benchmark rate stable or potentially hike borrowing costs to fight inflation.