Asian stocks extend gains as US rebounds, chipmakers lead

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was up 0.3% at $66,611.73, while ether climbed 0.7% to $1,936.18.

Brent crude nudged 0.6% higher to $91.55 a barrel after two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday after threats of attack from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against six currencies, held near a one-week high of 101.20. Against the yen, the dollar was down 0.1% at 163.06 yen, weakening slightly after setting a four-decade high against the Japanese currency on Tuesday.

The jump in oil prices, which settled at a five-week high on Tuesday, did little to unsettle bond and currency markets ahead of central bank meetings next week. Among them, the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to keep its key interest rate steady for the rest of 2026, according to the median forecast of economists in a Reuters poll, though they said the chance of a rate hike is high.