TOKYO – On Tuesday, Asian stock markets experienced a significant boost, driven by a remarkable 5% rise in South Korea’s key index and a 3% upswing in Japan’s Nikkei 225. The surge was primarily fueled by a wave of buying in technology-related stocks.
Investors are keenly watching the upcoming earnings announcements from major corporations to assess how trends such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and China’s potential restrictions on rare earth exports might be affecting the market.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose by 3.2%, reaching 54,346.33. Notably, shares in Disco Corp., a manufacturer of equipment, increased by 6%, while Advantest, a company specializing in testing equipment, saw a 5.6% rise.
In South Korea, the Kospi index surged 5% to hit 5,197.86, almost reaching its record high. This recovery followed a Monday downturn that triggered temporary trading halts. Investor confidence seemed to return amid concerns about a potential AI bubble, as shares of Samsung Electronics Co. jumped 6.9%, and semiconductor company SK Hynix saw a 7.5% increase.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index remained relatively unchanged, closing at 26,786.47, while China’s Shanghai Composite index inched up 0.4% to finish at 4,031.07.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 managed a 1.2% increase, reaching 8,880.20, as investors anticipated the central bank’s decision on interest rates.
Investors are awaiting more earnings reports from major companies to gauge the impact of various trends including U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and possible curbs on rare earths exports from China.
On Monday, U.S. share prices rose while gold and silver prices sank further following their latest wild moves. The S&P 500 added 0.5% to 6,976.44, snapping a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% to 49,407.66, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6% to 23,592.11.
Sandisk leaped 15.4% to lead the S&P 500. The data-storage company added to its 6.9% gain from Friday, after it reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It credited demand created by the artificial-intelligence boom, among other things. That helped offset a 2.9% drop for Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the world’s move into AI technology.
The Walt Disney Co. fell 7.4% even though the entertainment giant reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It warned of challenges, such as international visitors declining at its U.S. theme parks.
Shares in software company Palantir Technologies soared 7% in after-hours trading after it reported its revenue in the last quarter climbed 70%.
The center of action in financial markets was again precious metals, where prices have yoyoed after stellar gains. Gold’s price have roughly doubled in just 12 months.
Gold gained 3.4% on Tuesday, while silver’s price rebounded by 7.5%.
Gold and silver prices have surged as investors search for safer things to own at a time of uncertainty over the status of the Federal Reserve, which may be set to become less independent, a U.S. stock market that critics say is expensive, threats of tariffs and heavy debt loads for governments worldwide.
Their prices cratered on Friday, including a 31.4% plunge for silver. Some on Wall Street saw it as a result of President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Fed.
The Fed’s chair has a big influence on the economy and markets worldwide by helping to dictate where the U.S. central bank moves interest rates. That affects prices for all kinds of investments, as the Fed tries to keep the U.S. job market humming without letting inflation get out of control.
In other dealings early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude fell 14 cents to $62.00 a barrel. Brent crude shed 22 cents to $66.08 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar declined to 155.42 Japanese yen from 155.61 yen. The euro cost $1.1812, up from $1.1791.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
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