Asian stocks surge on tech earnings, oil slide

Asian stock markets jumped on Wednesday as strong earnings and a resurgence of demand for tech lifted Wall Street to record peaks, while hopes for progress on opening the Strait of Hormuz dragged on oil prices and bond yields. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 3.0% and South Korea's KOSPI added 3.4%, continuing its run of wild swings. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.5%. Not all tech firms benefited equally: investors took profits on AMD even as its results beat forecasts, with shares sinking 9% after the bell. SpaceX shed 7.5% on worries that capital expenditure was eating up cash flow. The ongoing slide in oil prices, with Brent Crude easing to $79.02 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropping to $75.35, provided relief from inflation fears and boosted bonds globally, with 10-year Treasury yields down to 4.6187%. Markets pared the probability of a September rate hike from the United States — Federal Reserve to 57% from 67%. United States — Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeff Schmid called for tighter policy. The New Zealand slipped after unemployment hit a decade peak. The euro was flat, the dollar was lower on the yen, and gold edged up to $4,080 an ounce. Japan and the United States launched a rare joint yen-buying intervention last week and vowed to take further action if needed.