Asian shares rose on Thursday, reflecting Wall Street advances, while South Korea’s Kospi surged over 6%. U.S. futures edged higher following the news that the U.S. Treasury Department plans to double its acquisition of longer-term government debt. This move is expected to elevate bond prices, thereby lowering yields and alleviating pressure on share prices.

The Kospi jumped 6.1% to 6,858.91 after it had fallen 5.8% the previous day due to renewed selling in AI-related shares. Notable gains included Samsung Electronics, which rose by 9.7%, and memory chipmaker SK Hynix, which increased by 14.1% after announcing a substantial share buyback initiative.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3% to 66,178.26, reversing earlier declines in the week. Despite reporting a trade deficit for the third consecutive month in July, Japan saw record highs in both imports and exports. Shares in SoftBank Group, a major OpenAI investor, went up by 3.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1% to 25,786.32, and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.3% to reach 3,905.23. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 9,066.40.

Taiwan’s Taiex was largely steady, while India’s Sensex saw a 0.7% increase. Following the U.S. Treasury’s announcement, yields on U.S. government bonds decreased, easing investor concerns about rising yields. The benchmark S&P 500 in the U.S. increased by 0.2%, marking its first gain in four days, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite also rising by 0.2%.

Recent months have seen higher yields due to inflation worries linked to the prolonged conflict in Iran and escalating government debt. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield dropped to nearly 4.64% from Tuesday’s 4.71%, but remains elevated compared to pre-war levels. Similarly, the 30-year Treasury yield declined to 5.18% from Tuesday’s 5.28%. In Asia, Japanese 10-year government bond yields eased to around 2.83% from more than 2.89% the day before, levels near 30-year highs.

Oil prices rose modestly on Thursday with limited progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations over the ongoing conflict. Brent crude saw a 0.3% increase to $91.90 a barrel, up from pre-war levels of around $72. U.S. benchmark crude moved up 0.2% to $84.57 a barrel. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar strengthened to 158.60 Japanese yen from 158.16 yen, while the euro dipped slightly to $1.1676 from $1.1677.

This report includes contributions from AP Business Writer Stan Choe.