MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.08%

Asian stocks jumped on Thursday, ‌while oil slid as focus shifted to demand concerns from stalled U.S.-Iran peace efforts.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.08%, led by South Korean shares climbing 3.78%. Nikkei added 1.67% on chip-related stocks and a robust earnings outlook.

Markets are remaining relatively resilient because economic growth is good and accelerating, said Olga Bitel, chief ​investment strategist at William Blair Investment Management. We thus expect overall financial markets to remain well behaved, notwithstanding a period of intra-market leadership ​rotation.

In the oil market, prices eased on a weaker demand outlook following a surprise build in U.S. crude stocks and lower consumption forecasts ​from OPEC and the International Energy Agency. Brent slid 0.2% to $88.80.

Iran ​and the U.S. remained at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, with talks to revive a June interim agreement making no ‌headway and ⁠no timetable set for its implementation, according to Iran.

U.S. said it has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, a claim swiftly rejected by Iran, which said the route remained blocked.

Against the yen, the dollar weakened 0.04% to 159.33, amid growing speculation that the Bank of Japan would hike interest rates next month, earlier than the previously expected December timeline. Those expectations were reinforced by Japan’s producer price index, which added ​7.2% in July from a year earlier, ​highlighting broadening price pressures.

Bloomberg News ⁠reported Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is supportive of a near-term rate hike, with the next move likely either in September or October. The dollar/yen pair barely reacted to the report.