Asian, European markets rise on AI tech surge, oil down

Major stock indexes across Asia and Europe advanced on Wednesday, while oil prices declined, following a record-setting session on Wall Street. The gains were largely driven by a surge in technology shares fueled by booming demand for artificial intelligence.

In Asia, South Korea's Kospi jumped 4.9 percent to a record high of 8,457.09, led by a 7 percent gain for Samsung Electronics. Taiwan's Taiex surged 2.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3 percent to 65,816.62, briefly topping the 66,000 mark for the first time during the trading day. Shares of chip equipment makers Tokyo Electron and Advantest rose 5.9 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1 percent. In contrast, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.7 percent and the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.2 percent.

The rally in Asian tech stocks followed a powerful performance in the U.S. market on Tuesday, which resumed trading after the Memorial Day holiday. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6 percent to a record 7,519.12, while the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.2 percent to its own all-time high of 26,656.18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2 percent to 50,461.68.

The strongest force lifting the S&P...