Asian stocks mostly advanced Wednesday as renewed strength in technology and semiconductor shares boosted markets in South Korea and Japan. However, higher oil prices and uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran negotiations kept investors cautious ahead of key U.S. inflation data. AI optimism also strengthened after CoreWeave reported better-than-expected sales growth, sending its shares sharply higher in extended U.S. trading. The Hang Seng fell more than 1% as major technology stocks Alibaba, Tencent, NetEase, JD.com and Meituan declined. July headline CPI is forecast to rise 0.1% month-on-month and 3.4% annually, while core inflation is expected at 2.5% year-on-year.