Asian stock markets mostly closed higher on Tuesday, with South Korea and Japan recovering some of the losses suffered in recent sessions due to heavy selling of artificial intelligence (AI)-related shares.
U.S. stock futures moved slightly higher, while oil prices fell.
South Korea's Kospi index rose 4.7% to 6,821.41 after dropping 4.5% a day earlier. Technology stocks led the recovery, with Samsung Electronics climbing 7.4% and memory chip maker SK Hynix gaining 6.4%.
Despite a decline of more than 20% over the past month as investors locked in profits amid concerns over a possible AI investment bubble, the Kospi remains up more than 50% so far this year.
Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 2.8% to 65,926.41 after reopening following Monday's public holiday, recovering part of last week's losses.
Among major gainers, Kioxia Holdings surged 15.9%, chip testing equipment maker Advantest rose 6.9%, SoftBank Group advanced 6.1%, and Tokyo Electron added 1.3%.
Taiwan's Taiex index climbed 3.6%, supported by a 2.8% rise in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up less than 0.1% to 25,150.75, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6% to 3,819.66. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1%, while India's Sensex slipped 0.1%.
Oil prices eased after Monday's gains. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 0.7% to $88.63 a barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude dropped 0.3% to $82.24 a barrel.
Investors continued to watch developments in the Middle East after Iran reportedly attacked another tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas shipments. The United States also launched fresh strikes on Iran for a tenth consecutive night, while Tehran continued retaliatory attacks targeting U.S. allies in the region.
Iran's interior minister visited Pakistan, which has been acting as a mediator, for talks aimed at easing tensions, although no breakthrough has been announced.
Analysts at ING said there were some signs of possible de-escalation between the United States and Iran, but warned that major differences remain. They also said attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on shipping linked to Saudi Arabia have increased concerns over global oil supplies.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.2% on Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite slipped by less than 0.1%.
Several major AI and semiconductor companies still posted gains. Nvidia rose 0.2%, Micron Technology gained 1.9%, Broadcom climbed 2%, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) advanced 1.6% after expanding its AI partnership with Microsoft.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was little changed at 162.48 Japanese yen, while the euro remained steady at $1.1414.