Asian stock markets showed a mixed performance on Monday, with Japan and South Korea leading the way due to strong demand for stocks in the computer chip industry. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.7% to 66,104.93, while South Korea’s Kospi surged 3.3% to 6,907.53. Major gains were seen in companies like Samsung Electronics, which climbed 4.5%, and SK Hynix, a memory chipmaker, which jumped 6.2%. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1% to 25,377.12, and China’s Shanghai Composite dropped slightly to 3,920.70. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 remained nearly flat at 9,005.30. In the energy sector, international benchmark Brent crude oil rose 67 cents to $96.95 per barrel, following ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. military dismissed claims that Iran had attacked an uncrewed American vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the report a "total lie." Meanwhile, an Iranian official hinted that Tehran may soon establish an "exclusion zone" in the strait, aimed at restricting ships it believes are trying to pass through. This comes after U.S. forces attacked three Iranian oil tankers in response to missile strikes on American warships. U.S. crude oil also rose 61 cents to $92.09 per barrel. U.S. financial markets were closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Last week, they closed lower after the government reported that employers added 162,000 jobs in August, more than expected. This may increase the chance that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month. On Friday, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq all declined slightly. Investors are anticipating a rate hike to help bring down inflation, which is currently above 3%. The Fed aims to reduce inflation to its target of 2%. The next Fed meeting will conclude on September 16, and inflation data for August is expected on September 11. U.S. government bond yields, which had fallen last week, rose slightly as investors assessed the impact of the jobs report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury reached 4.78%. In currency markets, the U.S. dollar remained nearly unchanged at around 156.22 Japanese yen. The euro fell slightly to $1.1609 from $1.1621. Japanese officials are concerned about the yen's weakening, which has recently rebounded after the dollar reached 160 yen last week. Analysts are closely watching the Bank of Japan’s next policy meeting, where decisions on interest rates could be made. Linh Tran, a market analyst at XS.com, noted that the recent U.S. jobs report had only a limited effect on the dollar, indicating that the market is more responsive to potential changes in the Bank of Japan’s policy stance.