Japanese stocks maintained their positive run to close in green on the back of softer US inflation data, even as oil prices jumped on energy supply pressure after Iran expanded its strikes on Gulf countries.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 closed up 1,008.01 points or 1.49%, at 68,751.51.

The lower-than-expected US inflation data diminished hopes of a near-term interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve, while technology stocks led by artificial intelligence were among the best performers.

Oil prices gained on the geopolitical escalation led by the US-Iran conflict after US President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade and threatened to hit power plants and bridges in Iran.

On the corporate side, Sankyo (TYO:6417) said its unit, SAN ART Co., signed a 1.93 billion yen business transfer deal to acquire Data Art's pachinko and pachislot software business, according to a Wednesday filing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Also, Cloud services provider Toyokumo (TYO:4058) posted preliminary sales of 531 million yen in June, up 32% from the same month a year earlier.