* Nvidia ( NVDA ) earnings beat expectations, lift Asian suppliers

* Tankers with 6 million barrels of crude pass through

Strait of Hormuz

* Samsung shares surge as union halts threatened strike

at 11th hour

* Australian dollar slumps after employment unexpectedly

falls

(Adds Aussie jobs data, Taiwan and China open in paragraph 2;

oil market detail 3, Samsung strike 11, analyst 13 and Australia

17)

By Gregor Stuart Hunter

SINGAPORE, May 21 (Reuters) - Asian stocks surged on

Thursday as some vessels resumed passage through the Strait of

Hormuz, while forecast-beating results at Nvidia ( NVDA ) and a suspended

workers' strike at Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) lifted shares of

chipmakers.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

climbed 2.6%, snapping a four-day streak of

losses. Korea's KOSPI leapt more than 7%, Taiwanese

shares rose 3.5% and Chinese blue-chips gained

1.1%.

Brent crude futures edged up 0.6% to $105.68 a

barrel in Asia trade, retracing declines after three

supertankers passed through the strait on Wednesday and Iran

consolidated its control of the waterway. Supply concerns

persist though following a U.S. inventory drawdown.

On Wall Street on Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1%,

while the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.5% after three days

of declines, as President Donald Trump said the United States

was ready to proceed with further attacks on Iran if Tehran did

not agree to a peace deal, but suggested Washington could wait a

few days to "get the right answers."

"Oil prices declined and other major markets rallied, as

investors took comfort from headlines quoting Trump saying the

U.S. was in the 'final stages' with Iran," analysts from Westpac

wrote in a research report.

Asian chipmakers' shares rose after Nvidia's ( NVDA )

better-than-expected revenue forecast on Wednesday as CEO Jensen

Huang aimed to reassure investors that the world's most valuable

company can sustain blockbuster growth in demand for its

flagship AI chips.

"The chip landscape remains Nvidia's ( NVDA ) world with everybody

else paying rent, as more sovereigns and enterprises wait in

line for Nvidia's ( NVDA ) chips," said Dan Ives, global head of

technology research at Wedbush Securities in New York.

However, Nvidia's ( NVDA ) shares fell 1.3% in extended trading,

while S&P 500 e-mini futures slipped 0.2%.

"The market's reaction was relatively muted by its own lofty

standards," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney.

"The lack of any China sales in the outlook and guidance that

was only modestly ahead of expectations left some investors

wanting a bit more fireworks."

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) shares surged 6%

after the electronics giant's union said it would suspend

industrial action upon reaching a tentative pay deal with the

company, averting a strike by nearly 48,000 workers that

threatened South Korea's economy and global chip supply.

However, the rally was blunted after a shareholder group

said the management's tentative pay deal with its labour union

was illegal, adding that it would file for an injunction if it

is approved by union members, the Yonhap News Agency reported on

Thursday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 share index jumped 3.6% after S&P

Global's flash manufacturing PMI showed expansion in May, albeit

at a slower pace than a month earlier, slipping to 54.5 from

55.1 in April, but still firmly above the mark separating growth

from contraction.

"By and large, external demand has turned out exceptionally

strong despite the U.S.-Iran conflict," analysts from DBS wrote

in a research report. "This could give BOJ the confidence to

hike in June, which should lift the yen if there are no fiscal

mishaps."

Separately, Japanese exports rose 14.8% year-on-year in

April, finance ministry data showed, rising for an eighth

straight month and confounding fears of stagflation in the

global economy. Against the yen, the dollar was flat at

158.84 yen.

Australian shares rose 1.6%, lagging the regional

rally after a mixed set of economic indicators.

The Aussie dollar sank 0.7% to $0.7105 after

Australian employment unexpectedly fell in April, while the

jobless rate jumped to the highest since late 2021, a possible

sign the labour market might be loosening enough to stave off a

near-term rate hike.

"The strong pick-up in Australia's jobless rate in April

makes it all but certain that the Bank will leave rates on hold

at 4.35% at its June meeting," analysts from Capital Economics

wrote in a research report. "However, with underlying inflation

set to accelerate further, we're not convinced the Bank will

call time on its tightening cycle."

Flash PMI data showed activity in the country's service

industry slowed to 47.7 in May from 50.7 a month earlier, though

a corresponding manufacturing gauge held at 50.2, just above the

mark separating expansion from contraction.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond was up 1 basis

point at 4.578%, resuming its climb after snapping a three-day

streak of declines on Wednesday. Minutes from the Federal

Reserve's April 28-29 meeting showed policymakers' concerns

about inflation intensified last month, with a growing number

open to the possibility that they may need to raise interest

rates.

Gold rose 0.4% to $4,561.95 as fears of inflation

grew, while bitcoin was 0.2% higher at $77,832.41 and

ether nudged up 0.3% to $2,141.15.