Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Monday as investors kicked off the final trading week of the year. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 0.55%, while the Topix lost 0.26%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.62%, while the Kosdaq index advanced 0.19%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 0.7%, while the mainland’s CSI 300 traded flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.21% lower.
The S&P 500 reached a new high on Friday and posted weekly gains as traders came back from the Christmas holiday. The broad market index closed down 0.03% to end at 6,929.94. At its high, the S&P 500 was up 0.2%, reaching 6,945.77. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.09% and closed at 23,593.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 20.19 points, or 0.04%, and settled at 48,710.97. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.4%, notching its fourth weekly advance in five weeks. The Dow and Nasdaq were also up more than 1% week to date. Investors are also in a historically strong seasonal period, as they await a potential Santa Claus rally. The surge occurs between the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year.
Gold dipped to around $4,500 per ounce on Monday but remained near its record high, supported by geopolitical uncertainty and expectations of further US rate cuts. President Donald Trump said that peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have made “a lot of progress,” though a deal may take weeks. Zelenskiy also added that the framework is 90% agreed and US-Ukraine security guarantees are fully settled. However, key issues remain, including territorial control of the Donbas region. Adding to the uncertainty were ongoing Middle East tensions and escalating US-Venezuela frictions. Meanwhile, markets are now looking ahead to this week’s FOMC minutes for additional clues on the future path of interest rates, as investors price in two cuts next year. Gold is up more than 70% this year, on track for its strongest annual gain since 1979, supported by central bank buying and sustained ETF inflows.
Silver swung sharply on Monday, erasing earlier losses of 5% to return to the key level of around $80 per ounce, moving back toward its record amid geopolitical uncertainty. President Donald Trump said that peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have seen “significant progress,” although a final agreement could take weeks. Zelenskiy noted that the framework is largely settled, with US-Ukraine security guarantees fully agreed, but key issues, such as control over the Donbas region, still need resolution. Adding to geopolitical risks are ongoing tensions in the Middle East and rising friction between the US and Venezuela. Silver is on track for roughly a 166% gain in 2025, supported by speculative inflows, lingering supply disruptions following an October short squeeze, central-bank buying, ETF inflows, and expectations of US rate cuts, with markets increasingly pricing in further easing in 2026.
China’s military moved army, naval, air force and artillery units around Taiwan on Monday for its “Justice Mission 2025” drills, as the island vowed to defend democracy and mobilised troops to rehearse repelling a potential Chinese attack. The Eastern Theatre Command announced the drills will involve live-fire exercises on Tuesday, in a statement containing a graphic demarcating five zones surrounding the island that will be under sea and air space restrictions for 10 hours from 8 a.m. (0000 GMT). This marks China’s sixth major round of war games since 2022 after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the democratically governed island, and follows a rise in Chinese rhetoric over Beijing’s territorial claims after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
President Donald Trump on Sunday said that talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war had progressed after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida, though Trump acknowledged that thorny issues over territory remain. “I do think we’re getting a lot closer, maybe very close,” Trump told reporters after emerging from the talks. In his remarks, Zelenskyy called the peace talks a “really great discussion” in which U.S.-Ukraine security guarantees were “100% agreed” upon, though Trump gave a slightly lower estimate when asked about that part of the proposal. “We agree that security guarantees is a key milestone in achieving lasting peace,” Zelenskyy said. Further, the Ukrainian president said that Trump will host meetings next month with Ukrainian and European leaders to continue developing the peace plan.
Private home prices in Hong Kong grew 0.9% month-on-month in November, the sixth month of increase in a row, government data showed on Monday, as interest rate cuts and a vibrant stock market supported sentiment. Home prices climbed 0.9% in November from October, following a revised 0.4% rise in the previous month, data from the Rating and Valuation Department showed. Prices have risen 2.8% this year, turning around from an annual decline since 2021. Home prices in Hong Kong, one of the world’s least affordable cities, have tumbled nearly 30% from a 2021 peak, hurt by higher mortgage rates, a weak economic outlook and poor demand after many professionals left due to strict COVID curbs and new national security laws. Authorities tried to prop up the sector - a core pillar of the economy - last year, removing curbs on property purchases and relaxing ratios on down payments, but housing demand has remained soft.
China’s finance ministry on Sunday said fiscal policies will be more proactive next year, reiterating its focus on domestic demand, technological innovation and a social safety net. The statement comes as trading partners urge the world’s second-biggest economy to reduce its reliance on exports, underscoring the urgency to revive confidence at home where a prolonged property crisis has rippled through the economy, weighing on sentiment. China will boost consumption and actively expand investment in new productive forces and people’s overall development, the ministry said in a statement after a two-day meeting at which it set 2026 goals. In addition, the ministry said it will support innovation to foster new growth engines, and improve the social security system by providing better healthcare and education services.
Activist investor Toms Capital Investment Management (TCIM) has made a significant investment in Target, the Financial Times reported on Friday, intensifying pressure on the struggling retailer after years of lagging performance compared with its rivals. The size of the stake was not disclosed, and the report did not specify what demands the New York–based firm may bring forward. Target’s shares rose 2.6% on the news. Its stock has lost more than 28% of its value this year after the Minneapolis-based chain posted three straight quarters of falling comparable sales. In August, the retailer appointed veteran company executive Michael Fiddelke to revive growth, as the business faces pressure from strained household budgets and tariff uncertainties. "We maintain a regular dialogue with the investment community. Target’s top priority is getting back to growth," Target said in a statement to Reuters on Friday. TCIM did not respond to requests for comment.
South Korean online retail giant Coupang said it will offer 1.69 trillion South Korean won ($1.17 billion) in compensation to 34 million users affected by a massive data breach disclosed last month. The company said in a statement Monday local time that it planned to provide customers with purchase vouchers totalling 50,000 won for various Coupang services. Former customers who closed their Coupang accounts following the data breach are also eligible to receive the vouchers. Coupang said users can check their eligibility for the vouchers starting Jan. 15, according to a Google translation of the statement in Korean.
Amazon said on Sunday it has decided not to pursue plans to deliver goods by drone in Italy, saying that while it had made good progress with aerospace regulators, broader business regulatory issues did not support the project. The Italian civil aviation ENAC called the decision unexpected, saying in a statement on Saturday the move was motivated by company policy, linked to "recent financial events involving the Group". The company had announced in December 2024 the successful completion of initial tests of delivery drones in San Salvo, a town in the central Abruzzo region. In a statement to Reuters on Sunday, Amazon said: "Following a strategic review, we have decided to stop our commercial drone delivery plans in Italy". "Despite positive engagement and progress with Italian aerospace regulators, the broader business regulatory framework in the country does not, at this time, support our longer-term objectives for this program," Amazon added.
China’s rocket startup LandSpace has made no secret about drawing inspiration from Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Earlier this month, the Beijing-based firm became the first Chinese entity to conduct a reusable rocket test. That put SpaceX on alert and LandSpace is now preparing to go public to fund its future projects, just as its bigger and far more successful U.S. rival considers an initial public offering of its own. Even though LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 rocket test ended in failure, its aspiration to become second only to SpaceX in reusable rockets is providing a fresh impetus to China’s space industry, which has long been dominated by risk-averse, state-owned entities. "(SpaceX) can push products to the edge and even into failure, quickly identifying limits and iterating," Zhuque-3 chief designer Dai Zheng told state broadcaster CCTV after the rocket’s inaugural flight.