In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index added 1.01% to hit an all-time high of 3,646.67. The construction and mining sectors led gains on the index, with Korea Zinc up 17.95%, and Tongyang Inc soaring 17.49%. Meanwhile, the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.84%. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined 1.34%, while the Topix lost 1.31%. SoftBank’s shares fell over 5% after its subsidiary, British chip designer Arm, was working with OpenAI on its deal with Broadcom, according to tech publication The Information. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened 0.75% higher, while the Hang Seng Tech Index added 0.9%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 advanced 0.87%.
Stocks surged on Monday, rebounding from Friday’s sell-off after President Donald Trump said trade relations with China “will all be fine.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 587.98 points, or 1.29%, to 46,067.58, which equates to 67% of its Friday loss. The S&P 500 climbed 1.56% to finish at 6,654.72, retracing 56% of its prior decline. The Nasdaq Composite popped 2.21% to settle at 22,694.61 as beat-down technology stocks led the bounce. Those moves come after Trump’s Truth Social post on Sunday suggested to investors the president may not follow through on his threat to post a “massive increase of tariffs” on China.
Gold broke through $4,100 per ounce for the first time on Monday, hitting another record high on renewed U.S.-China trade tensions and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts, while silver also rose to an all-time high. Spot gold was up 2.21% to $4,106.05 per ounce, after hitting a record $4,116.77. U.S. gold futures for December settled 3.3% higher at $4,133. Spot silver rose 3.58% to $52.08 after touching a record high of $52.12 earlier in the session, buoyed by the same factors supporting gold and spot market tightness.
Oil prices rose on Monday after hitting five-month lows in the previous session, as investors focused on potential talks between the presidents of the United States and China that could ease trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies and oil consumers. Brent crude futures rose $1.07, or 1.71%, to $63.80 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $60.05 a barrel, up $1.15, or 1.95%. Both contracts lost around 4% on Friday to settle at their lowest since May. U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer said on Sunday that a meeting could still happen in South Korea on the sidelines of the APEC forum.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday declared the war in the Middle East is over, as he embarked on a trip to the region to finalize a peace deal for Gaza. Trump arrived in Tel Aviv earlier Monday to mark the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas after more than two years in captivity. Addressing lawmakers at the Israeli parliament, Trump stated that Hamas will disarm. Greeted with a trumpet fanfare and cheers in the Knesset, Trump delivered a speech in which he said the “long and painful nightmare” was finally over for both the Israelis and Palestinians, adding that America joined its ally in two “everlasting vows”: “Never forget, and never again.”
President Donald Trump is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House this week. The meeting follows phone conversations where they discussed the possibility of the U.S. approving the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Trump said he is considering the move as “a new step of aggression” to pressure Russia to end the war. Zelenskyy last met with Trump in August, shortly after the American president met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Ukraine’s use of Tomahawks—cruise missiles with a 1,000-mile range—would significantly ramp up its counter-attack capabilities.
President Donald Trump called for a new era of harmony in the Middle East during a global summit on Gaza’s future, attempting to advance broader peace after visiting Israel to celebrate a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. “We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us,” Trump said, urging leaders to declare that the future will not be ruled by past fights. The trip included a summit in Egypt and a speech at the Knesset, marking a fragile moment of hope for ending two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The Treasury Department has extended a financial lifeline to Argentina to head off an emerging market financial crisis. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a $20 billion currency swap line with Argentina’s central bank, exchanging stable U.S. dollars for volatile pesos. The move comes amid liquidity concerns ahead of key midterm elections determining the fate of President Javier Milei’s government, a major regional ally for the U.S. The bailout aims to keep credit markets calm at home amidst global growth jitters and election-year uncertainty.
President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Russia that he may send Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles if Moscow doesn’t settle its war soon. “I might say, ’Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. He described the Tomahawk as an “incredible, very offensive weapon” that Russia does not need to face. Trump noted he mentioned this possibility during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier Sunday, suggesting it is an appropriate measure to bring pressure to bear.
Energy supermajors are facing tough choices in a weaker crude price environment, with generous shareholder payouts expected to come under pressure. U.S. and European oil majors, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP, have moved to cut jobs and costs during this industry downturn. This marks a stark change from 2022, when the five biggest oil companies raked in combined profits of nearly $200 billion following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, previously rewarding shareholders with high dividends and massive share buybacks.
India’s annual retail inflation slowed to an eight-year low of 1.54% in September as food prices eased, providing room for the central bank to potentially cut rates in December. The figure was below expectations and the lowest since June 2017. Retail inflation has now dropped below the Reserve Bank of India’s 2%–6% tolerance band for the second time in three months. The RBI has already reduced interest rates by 100 basis points this year and signaled a potential further cut at its upcoming review.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned on Monday that countries lack the regulatory and ethical foundation to deal with the rapid advent of artificial intelligence. She urged civil society groups to "ring the alarm bells," noting that the technological revolution is currently dominated by advanced economies, particularly the U.S. Georgieva expressed concern that the gap between advanced and low-income countries in AI readiness is growing, making it increasingly difficult for developing nations to catch up.
JPMorgan Chase announced a decade-long plan to invest up to $10 billion directly into companies crucial to U.S. national interests. The investment targets four key areas: defense and aerospace, frontier technologies (AI and quantum computing), energy technology (batteries), and advanced manufacturing/supply chains. This is part of the broader "Security and Resiliency Initiative," aiming to facilitate $1.5 trillion in total funding. CEO Jamie Dimon emphasized that the U.S. has become too reliant on unreliable sources for essential minerals and manufacturing.
Salesforce launched its "Agentforce 360" AI platform globally across its cloud-based tools on Monday. The platform helps clients automate routine tasks using AI agents that can take actions on behalf of users. CEO Marc Benioff noted that Agentforce 360 connects humans, agents, and data on one trusted platform. The service already boasts 12,000 customers, including Reddit and OpenTable. Additionally, Slack will now allow employees to use conversational AI within chats to gather data and complete tasks under enterprise security guardrails.
Estee Lauder shares jumped as much as 8.4% after Goldman Sachs raised its recommendation to "buy." The beauty company is benefiting from easing U.S.-China trade tensions, given its meaningful exposure to the China market. Analysts believe investors are seeing signs of sustainable topline growth and share gains. Optimism is driven by long-term growth potential in the prestige beauty industry, stabilizing trends in China, and abating headwinds within the travel retail sector.