*

Asia shares rise; European futures mixed

*

Oil prices extend gains on worries over U.S.-Iran conflict

*

Dollar steady as Fed in no rush to cut rates

(Updates to Asia afternoon)

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on

Thursday, supported by gains in technology giants on Wall

Street, while lingering U.S.-Iran tensions kept oil prices

supported and left gold underpinned by safe-haven flows.

In ​currencies, the dollar firmed after minutes from the

Federal Reserve's latest meeting ‌showed policymakers were in no

rush to cut rates.

Trading was thinned in Asia with markets in Hong Kong, China

and Taiwan closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, but MSCI's

broadest ⁠index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

was up 0.4% and Tokyo's Nikkei gained

0.7%.

South Korea's Kospi jumped more than 3% to ⁠a record

high.

That followed a rise in shares of tech heavyweights on Wall

Street, driven by ‌news from Nvidia ( NVDA ) on Tuesday ‌that it

signed a multi-year deal to sell Meta Platforms ( META )

millions of its current and future artificial intelligence

chips.

"We needed some good news. I think there has been a ​general

feeling of malaise in the tech sector," said Tony Sycamore, a

market ‌analyst at IG, referring to the steep selloff earlier

this month.

"Nvidia ( NVDA ) has been very much the front and centre of the rally

which we saw up into the end of 2025, and potentially it's ​now

coming to the rescue a little bit... some badly needed ​good news

there that ‌can potentially set tech stocks for a better run into

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings next week."

European markets appeared to be set for a mixed open.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures were down 0.11%, while FTSE

futures added 0.15%. DAX futures eased 0.3%.

Nasdaq ⁠futures were up 0.17% while S&P 500 futures

edged 0.11% higher.

Geopolitics also loomed large in markets.

Oil prices extended gains after ⁠surging in the previous

session, as investors priced in potential supply disruptions on

concerns of a conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

Brent crude futures were up 0.16% at $70.46 a barrel

after jumping 4.35% in the previous session, while U.S. crude

rose 0.25% to $65.35, following Wednesday's 4.6% gain.

"The balance of risks now tilts to a U.S. strike after

market close Friday," said Michael Every, senior global

strategist at Rabobank, ⁠adding that ‌any attack is likely to

last weeks rather than "being over by the Monday open".

The safe-haven ‌gold continued to find bids and

steadied at $4,998.18 an ounce.

FED OUTLOOK

The dollar held to gains on Thursday in the wake of

better-than-expected U.S. ⁠economic data and as minutes of the

Fed's January policy meeting revealed several policymakers were

open to rate hikes if inflation remains elevated.

Against the dollar, sterling fell close to a

one-month low of $1.34816, while the yen slipped to the

weaker side of 155 per dollar to fetch 155.26.

"From our perspective, the (Fed) minutes support our view

that rate cuts are off the table for the foreseeable future,"

said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz

Investment Management.

"While some market participants are looking at inflation in

the rear view mirror, the Fed is still signalling the safety

warning that 'objects in the ​mirror are closer than they

appear'. Policymakers specifically noted disinflation could be

on a slower path."

Elsewhere, the euro struggled below $1.18 and last

bought $1.17915, pressured by news that European Central Bank

President Christine Lagarde plans to leave her job early.

The New Zealand dollar was up 0.07% ​at $0.5970,

having tumbled 1.4% in the previous session after the ‌country's

central bank tempered market expectations for a hawkish pivot at

its policy meeting.