MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.69%, led by declines in tech firms

Asian shares took a ​breather on Thursday after an AI-driven surge the previous day, while oil prices traded in a tight range ‌as markets assessed prospects for an Iran peace deal.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.69%, led by declines in tech firms. South Korean shares declined 3.64% while Nikkei shed 1.57%.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics lost 2.44% and peer SK Hynix slipped 6.95%. In Tokyo, Kioxia slumped 9.61%, ​while Tokyo Electron dipped 4.61%.

The pullback came amid a weaker session on U.S. stock market overnight, where the Nasdaq snapped a days-long ​winning streak as shares of SpaceX and Advanced Micro Devices stumbled after their quarterly earnings.

Although ⁠the AI and satellite company highlighted faster-than-expected returns from its AI spending, investors remained concerned about how long its profitable Starlink business could ​continue to bankroll costly investments in data centres.

And while AMD’s results beat analysts’ estimates, they fell short of investors’ lofty expectations.

​A proposed deal between Iran and Oman to help end five months of war between Iran and the U.S. would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian and regional officials.

Oil prices were steady in the $70-a-barrel range. Brent crude futures dropped to $79.31 per barrel, down 0.18%.

Madison Cartwright, senior geo-economics analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be ⁠reached by early September, though he remained sceptical that a deal was imminent.

Iran still has more leverage and will extract additional concessions from the U.S. under any new deal, Cartwright said in a note.