Asian financial markets experienced a broad upswing on Tuesday, with Japan’s benchmark index leading the charge following record-breaking performances on Wall Street. The trading session saw mixed movements in U.S. futures and moderate gains in oil prices.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index soared dramatically, climbing 3.1% to reach an unprecedented intraday peak of 53,814.79 as markets reopened after a national holiday. This remarkable surge was primarily fueled by substantial advances in technology stocks. Leading the rally, semiconductor testing equipment manufacturer Advantest witnessed an impressive 8.5% jump, while chip producer Tokyo Electron advanced 8.3%. Conglomerate SoftBank Group also contributed significantly to the market optimism with a 4.3% gain.
Market analysts are closely monitoring political developments in Japan, where Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is reportedly considering calling a snap election. This strategic move would potentially strengthen her administration’s mandate for implementing expanded government spending policies.
Other Asian markets demonstrated varied performance. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index progressed 1% to reach 26,877.01, bolstered by the spectacular debut of Chinese chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor, which skyrocketed 54% in early trading. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite experienced a marginal decline of less than 0.1%, settling at 4,163.84.
South Korea’s Kospi achieved fresh intraday records with a 0.6% increase to 4,651.67. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.8% to 8,830.60, and Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.5%. India’s Sensex presented a contrasting picture, declining 0.3% amid regional optimism.
The market enthusiasm occurred against the backdrop of ongoing tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Investors appeared to balance concerns about potential erosion of Fed independence against expectations that presidential pressure might accelerate interest rate reductions. The Justice Department’s subpoena of the Fed regarding Powell’s testimony about headquarters renovations has further complicated this relationship.
Monday’s trading concluded with Wall Street achieving new milestones: The S&P 500 gained 0.2% to reach 6,977.27, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.2% to 49,590.20, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3% to 23,733.90.
In corporate developments, Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company) saw its market valuation exceed $4 trillion following Apple’s announcement of integrating Google’s Gemini technology to enhance its Siri virtual assistant. Conversely, credit card companies faced significant losses after President Trump proposed implementing a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, potentially impacting industry profitability. Synchrony Financial dropped 8.4%, Capital One Financial declined 6.4%, and American Express decreased 4.3%.
Commodity markets showed mixed activity with gold prices dipping 0.2% while silver advanced 0.8%. Currency markets witnessed the dollar strengthening to 158.72 yen from 158.07 yen, trading near yearly highs, while the euro slightly weakened to $1.1666 from $1.1667.