Asia Stocks Rise Amid Oil Price Gains, US Inflation Expectations

Asian stocks mostly rose on Wednesday, despite U.S. shares slipping from their records. The Kospi in South Korea led gains with a 4% surge, driven by renewed buying of computer chipmakers.

Samsung Electronics gained 6.7%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix was up 5.5%. In contrast, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 1% to 25,401.92.

Oil prices rose as doubts persisted over when the war with Iran would allow crude to flow freely again. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, was up 1% at $89.79 early Wednesday.

Economists expect U.S. inflation to slip to 3.4% in July from 3.5% in June, which could relieve pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.