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Asian Shares Mostly Lower 12/29 05:14
Asian shares were mostly lower in thin holiday trading as China staged
military exercises near the island of Taiwan.
BANGKOK (AP) -- Asian shares were mostly lower in thin holiday trading as
China staged military exercises near the island of Taiwan.
The prices of gold and silver fell back after recent gains, while oil prices
advanced. U.S. futures were little changed.
Shares in Taiwan were higher even after China's military said it was
conducting the drills around the self-governed island that Beijing claims as
its territory.
China said the drills were intended to warn against what it called
separatist and "external interference" forces. Taiwan placed its forces on
alert and called the Beijing government "the biggest destroyer of peace."
The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales to the
territory. That followed a comment by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi
that Japan's defense forces could get involved if China were to take action
against Taiwan. The Chinese statement did not mention the United States and
Japan.
Taiwan's benchmark Taiex gained 0.9%, but the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gave up
early gains, falling 0.7% to 25,637.69. The Shanghai Composite index was
virtually unchanged at 3,965.28.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% to 50,526.92.
In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 2.2% to 4,220.56, less than 2 points off
its all-time record reached in early November. A 6.8% jump for SK Hynix due to
a regulatory change that lifted an investment warning for its stock helped
boost the benchmark. Samsung Electronics advanced 2.1%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.4% to 8,725.70.
The price of gold fell 1.3% to $4,494 per troy ounce, while silver slipped
2.4% to $75.30. It has jumped to record levels on supply constraints, as both
precious metals have been favored by investors seeking safe havens outside of
stocks and bonds.
Earlier surges in gold prices also partly reflected worries during the U.S.
government shutdown. Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut
interest rates further in the new year, weakening the dollar against other
currencies, have further fueled buying of gold.
Silver, which is used in many industries, has been influenced by other
factors, too. China, which refines about two-thirds of global supplies, has
scrapped an export quota system, replacing it with an export licensing system
effective Jan. 1.
"Scarcity is no longer theoretical," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management
said in a report. "China sits at the center of global silver refining, and when
the world's top refiner starts tightening the valve, downstream users feel it
immediately."
Reopening Friday from the Christmas holiday, the S&P 500 index fell less
than 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell less than 0.1%. The
Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.
With three trading days left in 2025, the S&P 500 has climbed nearly 18%
this year, helped by the deregulatory policies of the Trump administration and
investor optimism about the future of artificial intelligence.
Trading has been light, with institutional investors largely closed out for
the year.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 68 cents to
$57.42 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 66
cents to $60.90 per barrel. On Friday, U.S. crude oil fell 2.8% and Brent crude
fell 2.6%.
The U.S. dollar fell to 156.23 Japanese yen from 156.56 yen. The euro rose
to $1.1777 from $1.1770.
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