Asian Shares Rise, Metals Lead Commodities Rally: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian shares climbed to an all-time high, as a weaker yen fueled a record-breaking rally in Japanese equities.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5%, with a 1.6% jump in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average leading the moves. The Japanese currency slipped past the 159-per-dollar level to the weakest since July 2024. Equities have jumped, while the currency has come under pressure amid reports of a snap Japan election. South Korean shares rose, building on gains seen on every trading day of 2026.
Moves in the commodities market were sharper, with silver breaking above the $90-an-ounce level for the first time and gold trading just below a record. Tin rallied to a new high, and so did copper.
Traders head into Wednesday awaiting a possible US Supreme Court ruling on President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, which unsettled markets when announced in April. Even as concerns linger over Trump’s attacks on the Federal Reserve, global stocks have rallied to record highs on bets that investment in artificial intelligence will lift corporate earnings.
“President Trump is stepping up political pressure, including an investigation into the Fed chairman, and the judicial decision will be closely watched,” said Hironori Akizawa, a fund manager at Tokio Marine Asset Management. “If illegal, the tariffs may not be immediately revoked and other measures may be used. Even if they are revoked, the world will not return to the way it was before.”
The ruling is unlikely to have too many medium-term consequences, said Matthew Haupt, a portfolio manager at Wilson Asset Management.
Investors will instead be closely watching the bond market, Haupt said. If tariffs are removed, issuances will have to go up, which means a spike in yields and a “worst-case scenario” for stocks, he said.
In the commodities market, precious metals have extended last year’s rallies, with the prospect of a criminal indictment against Fed Chair Jerome Powell reviving worries about the monetary authority’s independence.
Haven demand has also been aided by Trump’s capture of Venezuela’s leader, his renewed threats to take Greenland, and violent protests in Iran. Citigroup Inc. analysts upgraded their forecasts this week for gold and silver to $5,000 per ounce and $100 an ounce, respectively, in the next three months.
Oil steadied after the biggest four-day gain in more than six months. Elsewhere, the dollar held its gains from the prior session, when December US inflation data did little to dent expectations that the Fed will pause interest-rate cuts.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
Dollar-yen looks likely to climb above 160 and keep going higher. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s reported plan for a snap election was the main initial driver, and now a more hawkish Fed stance on US interest rates and the Iran-fueled increase in oil prices threaten Japan’s currency with a triple whammy.
— Garfield Reynolds, MLIV Asia Team Leader. Click here for the full analysis.
Attention in Asia was once again on Japan, where Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s reported plan for a snap election fueled a rally in stocks while pushing down bonds and driving the yen deeper into the intervention-risk zone. Japan’s five-year government bond yield climbed to its highest since the tenor’s debut in 2000.
Success at the polls for Takaichi, who ascended to the premiership in October, would provide a mandate for her to continue hawkish diplomacy and pro-stimulus policies.
Corporate News:
Netflix Inc. is working on revised terms for its Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. acquisition and has discussed making an all-cash offer for the company’s studios and streaming businesses, people familiar with the discussions said. Novo Nordisk A/S is back on the hunt for deals to boost its obesity portfolio after losing US biotech Metsera Inc. in a bidding war with Pfizer Inc. late last year. The Trump administration moved closer to allowing Nvidia Corp. to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China by issuing revised criteria for winning US government approval to ship the processors to Chinese buyers. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 12:36 p.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix rose 0.9% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8% The Shanghai Composite rose 1.2% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.2% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1647 The Japanese yen was little changed at 159.13 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.9745 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 1.5% to $95,487.73 Ether rose 3.8% to $3,329.94 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.17% Japan’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.180% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.72% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $60.85 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.8% to $4,623.03 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Abhishek Vishnoi, John Cheng and Bernadette Toh.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
