Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.24%, Shanghai Composite down 0.10%, Hang Seng up 0.32% ASX down 0.11%
- Commodities : Gold at $4,373.70 (0.70%), Silver at $73.885 (4.87%), Brent Oil at $61.43 (-0.10%), WTI Oil at $58.03 (-0.09%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.119, UK 10-year yield at 4.4880, Germany 10-year yield at 2.8257
News & Data:
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories -0.4M to -2.0M expected
Markets Update:
Asian stocks delivered a mixed performance on Tuesday, pressured by a weak overnight close on Wall Street. Investors remained cautious amid concerns over stretched valuations in AI-linked stocks, as well as elevated geopolitical risks following China’s military drills near Taiwan and Ukraine’s drone activity close to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence.
Profit-taking in precious metals dragged resource shares lower across several regional exchanges, while overall trading volumes stayed thin ahead of the New Year holidays. In Australia, the market slipped as commodity stocks declined, with the S&P/ASX 200 losing 16.21 points, or 0.19%, to 8,709.49. The broader All Ordinaries fell 0.17% to 9,016.30. Notable losers included Catalyst Metal, Newmont Corporation, Evolution Mining, Neuren Pharmaceuticals, Capstone Copper and Genesis Minerals, shedding between 2.5% and 4%. Meanwhile, James Hardie Industries, Droneshield, Amcor, Woodside Energy, Netwealth Group, QBE Insurance, Tabcorp Holdings and Santos advanced up to 3%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 61.57 points, or 0.12%, to 50,465.35 after hitting an intraday low of 50,198.07. Losses ranged from 1% to 3.7% across major names including Sumitomo Metal Mining, Rakuten, Shiseido and Nintendo. Gains came from Nidec, Fujitsu, Murata Manufacturing and Inpex.
In China, the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.21% to 3,956.78, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.36%. South Korea’s KOSPI eased to 4,217.95 after data showed weaker-than-expected industrial output. Elsewhere, New Zealand and Singapore posted small gains, but Indonesia and Malaysia moved lower.
Upcoming Events:
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