Hong Kong: Gold climbed to a new record Tuesday as investors sought out safe havens, while Japan’s Nikkei and the Hang Seng pushed higher waiting for Wall Street’s return after the Labor Day holiday.
The precious metal reached $3,501.59 an ounce during early trading in Asia, soaring past its previous record of $3,500.10 in April.
The run in gold prices comes as investors weigh up a weakened US dollar and the prospect of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
On Monday Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba soared almost 20 percent on bumper results and a surge in AI revenue, and its shares added another half percent on Tuesday.
This boosted the Hang Seng by 2.2 percent on Monday and the index was up 0.1 percent on Tuesday while Shanghai also moved higher.
Chinese equities won support also from the Purchasing Managers’ Index — a key measure of industrial output — gaining on Monday.
“While US giants face mounting questions around AI monetization and stretched valuations, Chinese firms are showing tangible earnings lift from AI and cloud,” Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets told AFP.
The Nikkei lost 1.2 percent on Monday as chip shares came under pressure but the index recovered some ground percent on Tuesday.
Seoul moved higher with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics recovering from losses on the back of worries about their chip plants in China.
Wall Street was shut Monday for Labor Day, while the dollar traded mixed against main rivals.
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Wall Street retreated from record highs Friday as a key US inflation reading accelerated, giving the Fed less room to manoeuvre at the same time concerns mount over its independence.
– Key figures at around 0300 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 42,292.88
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 25,644.02
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,839.97
New York – Dow: Closed Monday for a public holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN 1.1697 at from $1.1705 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN 1.3529 at from $1.3547
Dollar/yen: UP at 147.58 from 147.27 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.46 pence from 86.57 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $68.46 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 percent at $64.96 per barrel