MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat on Thursday, but was still set for a whopping 16% rise this month

AI-related shares fared well in Asia on Thursday after a raft of generally positive ‌earnings reports, while surging oil prices left bonds battered as central banks turned more hawkish on inflation and interest rates.

The latest spike in oil prices was a cause for concern, ​as Brent crude futures climbed 6% overnight to a four-year high of $122.53 a barrel on worries that the Strait of Hormuz might not open anytime soon.

Macroeconomic risks are significant at this juncture, but stock market bulls hope a rosy path for artificial intelligence can continue to offset cyclical weakness, said Jose Torres, senior economist at ​Interactive Brokers.

If earnings, capital expenditures and outlooks are buoyant, investors could remain sanguine even as the threat of a slowdown in overall activity, loftier ​borrowing costs and widening credit spreads raise eyebrows, Torres said.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat on Thursday, but was still set for a whopping 16% rise this month. Nikkei dropped 1% but was up a similar 16% in April.

KOSPI hit another ​all-time high as Samsung Electronics said its ​operating profit jumped eightfold to ⁠a record on robust AI demand, before running into some profit-taking.

China’s blue chips inched up 0.2% and Hang Seng index slid 0.3%.

Nasdaq futures rallied 1% as earnings from Google parent Alphabet topped forecasts, sending its shares up 7% in extended ‌trading. Results ⁠from Microsoft and Amazon.com were also solid, raising hopes for Apple later in the day.

Meta Platforms disappointed as it raised its annual capital spending forecast to plough billions more into artificial intelligence infrastructure, sending its shares down 7%.