Asian markets rise as Japan celebrates historic female prime minister amid record-breaking Wall Street session

Asian markets pushed higher Tuesday in what was otherwise sleepy holiday trading, with Japan’s benchmark index hitting fresh records after the country selected Sanae Takaichi as its first female prime minister. The mood was decidedly quiet, though, with both mainland China and South Korea out for holidays.

Takaichi’s weekend victory in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race sent the Nikkei 225 soaring nearly 5% Monday, and the rally kept going Tuesday with another 0.3% gain to 48,083.08 by afternoon.

Elsewhere in the region, results were all over the map. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3% to 8,956.80, while Taiwan’s Taiex surged 1.7%. Southeast Asian markets mostly climbed.

Wall Street keeps hitting new heights

Back in New York, Monday brought another round of records according to AP news. The S&P 500 added 0.4% to close at an all-time high of 6,740.28, while the Dow inched up 0.1% to 46,694.97. The Nasdaq jumped 0.7% to its own record at 22,941.67.

The day’s big winner? Advanced Micro Devices, which rocketed 23.7% higher after striking a major deal with OpenAI. The AI company will now use AMD chips to power its infrastructure, and could end up owning as many as 160 million AMD shares if certain milestones are hit.

AI mania continues fueling Wall Street’s record run, though some analysts are starting to question whether things are getting overheated.

OpenAI, now valued at a staggering $500 billion, has been inking partnerships left and right to build out AI capabilities globally.

Just last month, Nvidia said it would pour $100 billion into OpenAI, a move that drew criticism about the increasingly circular nature of AI investments. Nvidia shares dipped 1.1% Monday, and as the market’s heaviest hitter, that drop dragged on the broader S&P 500.

In banking news, Comerica jumped 13.7% after Fifth Third Bancorp announced plans to buy the company in an all-stock deal worth $10.9 billion. The combination would create the nation’s ninth-largest bank. Fifth Third fell 1.4%.

Tesla climbed 5.4% after teasing a product reveal coming Tuesday on social media. But not everyone had a good day. Verizon tumbled 5.1% following a CEO shakeup that will see Dan Schulman, a board member and former PayPal chief, replace Hans Vestburg.

Wall Street seems utterly unbothered by the ongoing federal government shutdown. Past closures have barely registered with markets or the economy, and traders appear to be betting on more of the same.

“It’s as if traders are watching the government drama like a rerun, confident that the ending never really changes,” noted Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

Treasury yields ticked higher, with the 10-year rising to 4.16% from 4.13% Friday. Oil prices edged up in early Tuesday trading, with U.S. crude adding 16 cents to $61.85 and Brent gaining 17 cents to $65.64. The dollar strengthened slightly to 150.49 yen from 150.35, while the euro slipped to $1.1695 from $1.1714.

Gold nears historic $4,000 mark

Gold just keeps climbing. The precious metal hit another record Tuesday, inching closer to $4,000 an ounce as the shutdown adds uncertainty to the Federal Reserve’s rate decisions ahead of this month’s policy meeting.

Gold peaked at $3,976.25 in morning trading after gaining 1.9% Monday. The federal closure has frozen key economic data releases, making it harder for the Fed to gauge conditions. Still, markets anticipate a quarter-point cut this month—good news for gold, which doesn’t pay interest.

This year has been remarkable for gold, with prices up more than 50% through a series of record highs. It’s shaping up to be the biggest annual gain since 1979, driven by central bank buying and growing interest in gold-backed funds as the Fed’s rate-cutting cycle continues.

Spot gold stood at $3,961.33 around 6:41 a.m. Singapore time. Silver held steady after Monday’s 1.6% pop to 48.7675, sitting just below an all-time high in records going back to 1993. Platinum and palladium also rose.

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