Asian shares mostly rose in early Thursday trading, as global market optimism continued on prospects for AI stocks and the semiconductor sector. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.6% to 68,609.92, South Korea's Kospi surged 3.9% to 6,835.55, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.4% to 3,961.82, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6% to 9,155.80. The gains followed an overnight Wall Street session where the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 7,748.50 and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5% to 26,588.49, helped by strong profit reports from AI companies. Treasury yields fell after a report showed U.S. consumer prices were 3.4% higher than a year earlier, down from June's 3.5% rate, which reduced bets that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in September. Benchmark U.S. crude dipped $1.07 to $82.20 a barrel, and Brent crude fell $1.01 to $87.97 a barrel.
