Hopes for reopening the Strait of Hormuz push Asian shares higher, as oil prices hold above $100

Asian shares jumped on Thursday, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gaining 5.7% to a record intraday high as investors waited to see if the U.S. and Iran will strike a deal allowing tankers to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf again.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 3,402 points to 62,915.87 as markets in Tokyo reopened following “Golden Week” holidays.

The Nikkei has gained about 18% in the past three months and nearly 73% in the past year, pushed higher by strong buying of tech shares that have benefited from the boom in artificial intelligence.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.3% to 26,559.86.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was up 0.9% at 8,870.70.

In South Korea, the Kospi slipped 0.4% to 7,353.08 as traders sold to lock in profits after the benchmark jumped nearly 7% a day earlier to barrel past 7,000 for the first time.

Taiwan's Taiex surged 2.1%.

On Wednesday, markets rallied worldwide after President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz could be “OPEN TO ALL” if Iran accepts a reported agreement that the U.S. president did not detail.

Oil prices fell nearly 8% and the S&P 500 climbed 1.5% for its best day in nearly a month, setting a fresh record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 2%.

However, optimism was tempered by continuing tensions. The U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker Wednesday as President Donald Trump sought to pressure Tehran into reaching a deal to end the war. The military said in a social media post that a fighter jet shot out the rudder of the tanker in the Gulf of Oman as the vessel tried to breach an American blockade of Iran’s ports.

Early Thursday in Asian trading, Brent crude oil rose 51 cents to $101.78 a barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 55 cents to $95.63 a barrel.

Oil prices sank Wednesday, and stock markets rallied worldwide on hopes that the United States and Iran are nearing a deal to allow ships to deliver crude through the Strait of Hormuz.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 7.8% to $101.27, down from more than $115 early this week.

The effective closure of the strait due to the war has caused big trouble for the global economy because the conflict has blocked oil tankers from using it to exit the Persian Gulf. A reopening could allow oil to flow freely again and remove pressure on inflation that’s driving prices up for all kinds of products worldwide.

The price of Brent crude fell below $97 a barrel but then pushed above $100 after Trump threatened to start bombing “at a much higher level and intensity” if Iran does not accept the agreement.

U.S. stocks remained resilient despite the war thanks partly to strong profit reports by big U.S. companies for the start of 2026.

Chipmaker AMD helped lead the market Wednesday with a surge of 18.6% after it joined the list of big-name companies topping expectations for both profit and revenue.

Super Micro Computer, rallied 24.5% after likewise delivering stronger earnings than analysts expected. Nvidia, the chip company that became the poster child of the AI boom, rose 5.7% and was the single strongest force lifting the S&P 500 because of its immense size.

CVS Health climbed 7.6% after delivering better results for the first quarter than analysts expected and raising its financial forecasts for the full year. The Walt Disney Co. gained 7.5% after saying its “Zootopia 2” movie helped draw people to its streaming business, parks and cruise ships.

Outside of earnings reports, companies with big fuel bills jumped on hopes that oil prices will continue to ease. That included gains of 6.8% for United Airlines, 6.8% for Carnival and 8.8% for Royal Caribbean.

In other dealings early Thursday, the U.S. dollar fell to 156.32 Japanese yen from 156.40 yen. The euro rose to $1.1756 from $1.1747.