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Oil prices fell and stocks rose on rising optimism about an end to Middle East hostilities. Iran and the U.S. are working with mediators on a one-page framework to restart negotiations aimed at ending the conflict and opening the Strait of Hormuz, with talks potentially beginning next week in Islamabad. Semiconductor stocks extended their rally.

Chipmakers are the most actively traded U.S. stocks ahead of the opening bell, setting the stage for another tech-led rally. In recent premarket action: Intel (INTC) is the most traded stock by volume, according to Dow Jones Market Data, and is up about 6%.

U. S. stock futures moved higher on Wednesday after President Donald Trump paused a military initiative aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and signalled progress toward a possible peace agreement with Iran.

Investing.com -- Advanced Micro Devices forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, driven by strong demand for its data center chips. Shares rose 17% in premarket trading on Wednesday.

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Gregor Stuart Hunter Global stocks were at record highs on Wednesday as some of Asia's biggest markets returned from a holiday in euphoric

South Korea’s Kospi soared nearly 7% to a fresh record on Wednesday as Samsung Electronics' stock jumped nearly 13% in a rally driven by expectations of strong growth in artificial intelligence and hopes for progress in ending the U.S.-Iran war. Shares in SK Hynix, another major Korean computer chipmaker, shot up 10% early Wednesday. Both Samsung and SK Hynix are major manufacturers of the computer chips vital for AI applications.

South Korea's Kospi soars nearly 7% to fresh records as Samsung Electronics stock jumps nearly 13%.

The market capitalisation of Samsung Electronics' ‌common stock surpassed $1 trillion ‌on Wednesday, making it the second ​Asian company after TSMC to reach the milestone. Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chipmaker, saw its ‌market value ⁠reach 1,500 trillion won ($1.03 trillion) in early trading ⁠in Seoul on Wednesday, tracking sharp gains of AI-related ​stocks in ​the U.S. ​overnight. Shares of the ‌South Korean chip giant were up 12% at 09:52 a.m.

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index vaulted past 7,000 for the first time on Wednesday, as an AI-powered rally in semiconductor stocks drove Samsung Electronics past the $1 trillion market-cap barrier. The gains underscore how ‌global demand for artificial intelligence hardware has become the dominant force reshaping equity markets, turning South Korea's chip-heavy benchmark into one of the ‌world's best performing major markets. The KOSPI closed up 6.45% at 7,384.56, after briefly tripping a rare "sidecar" trading curb and rising as much as 7.06% to a record high of 7,426.60, as a ​blistering rally in U.S. chip stocks overnight drove the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 4.2%.

Shares of ‌SK Hynix extended ‌gains to 12% on ​Monday, driven by foreign buying, after big U.S. tech ‌firms ⁠last week reported robust earnings ⁠and reaffirmed their investment plans ​for artificial ​intelligence ​data centers. SK ‌Hynix outperformed bigger rival Samsung Electronics, which has been weighed down by ‌the risk ​of a ​potential ​strike by ‌unionised workers demanding ​a ​bigger share of the company's ​AI-driven ‌profits.

(Bloomberg) -- The list of Asian stocks that benefit from business partnership with Nvidia Corp. is getting longer, as the region further integrates into the AI chip giant’s business ecosystem.Most Read from BloombergSupertanker Appears to Have Crossed the Strait of HormuzWorld’s Largest Container Carrier Plans Route Avoiding HormuzBeijing Tells China Firms to Ignore US Sanctions on RefinersPhilippines Says Thousands Evacuated as Mayon Volcano EruptsIran Juggles Oil Cuts and Storage Strain to Re

South Korea’s exports surged again in April, driven by semiconductor shipments, signaling resilience in the trade-dependent economy despite geopolitical risks stemming from the Middle East conflict.