BANGKOK - Oil prices advanced early Tuesday amid intensified fighting across the Middle East, while Asian equities posted mixed results as Tokyo and Seoul recovered from morning setbacks.

Brent crude gained more than 2.3 percent to reach 85.18 dollars per barrel after surging nearly 10 percent the prior session. West Texas Intermediate rose 2.5 percent to 80.15 dollars a barrel.

Prices remain beneath the conflict-driven high near 120 dollars, yet doubts about supply reliability have grown as both Washington and Tehran claim influence over the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. equity futures fluctuated after additional American strikes on Iran and President Donald Trump announced the restoration of a blockade in the strait.

Regional hostilities have blocked oil tankers from transiting the waterway out of the Persian Gulf, lifting global fuel costs.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7 percent to 67,743.50.

SoftBank Group shares climbed 2.3 percent after chairman Masayoshi Son spoke at a Tokyo event and dismissed concerns of an AI investment bubble.

South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7 percent to 6,856.83.

The Shanghai Composite gained 1.1 percent to 3,958.54 after China reported a 27 percent jump in June exports, fueled by strong chip demand tied to artificial intelligence.

China will release its latest quarterly economic figures on Wednesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.3 percent higher to 24,301.71, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped less than 0.1 percent to 8,804.70.

On Wall Street Monday the S&P 500 declined 0.8 percent after four winning weeks out of five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.6 percent.

Chip makers including Micron Technology led the retreat, with Micron shares falling 4.4 percent despite a 243.1 percent gain for the year.

Concerns are mounting that valuations have risen too far and that AI may fail to generate expected profits and efficiency gains.

Nvidia declined 3.5 percent and exerted the largest downward pressure on the S&P 500 given its position as the index's biggest constituent by market value.

Focus now shifts to second-quarter earnings. Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are all scheduled to report on Tuesday.

Analysts project 23.6 percent earnings growth for S&P 500 companies compared with a year earlier, according to FactSet, which would mark the second consecutive quarter above 20 percent.

Strong results across sectors will be required to support recent price gains, as indexes hover near records despite volatility linked to AI-related concerns.

Higher oil costs could add to inflation pressures and prompt the Federal Reserve and other central banks to increase interest rates, which may curb price growth yet also restrain economic activity and investment values.

Elsewhere early Tuesday the dollar eased to 162.35 yen from 162.46 yen, while the euro rose to 1.1387 dollars from 1.1382 dollars.