Stocks Rally With Commodities as Gold Hits Record: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Global stocks climbed as investors bet on a strong finish to the year for markets following a rally in US shares on Friday.

The MSCI All Country World Index — one of the broadest measures of the equity market — rose for a third day and was headed for its highest close since Dec. 11. It is up about 20% in 2025. A gauge of Asian stocks jumped as much as 1.1%, led by tech, while US futures also advanced.

Commodity markets were in the spotlight, with gold and silver hitting record highs and oil gaining amid heightened geopolitical tensions as US President Donald Trump intensified a blockade on Venezuela. Copper also reached a new peak. In Japan, bond yields rose to multi-year highs following Friday’s rate hike, while the yen strengthened after the nation’s chief currency official sent a warning on recent moves.

Hopes for a year-end rally in equities grew as dip buyers late last week helped US stocks recover from a slide driven by doubts over AI exuberance and the scope for Federal Reserve easing. The S&P 500 Index added 0.9% on Friday in a second day of gains, wiping out the week’s loss as volumes spiked during a quarterly options and futures expiry, and as traders positioned for gains into 2026.

“We’re now likely to see markets continue higher,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG in Sydney. “The one big elephant in the room remains the valuations in AI and where we go from here.”

Precious metals rallied, with their haven appeal boosted by geopolitical tensions and expectations of more Fed rate cuts. Looser monetary policy is a tailwind for gold and silver, which don’t pay interest.

Spot gold strengthened more than 1% to surpass the previous record of $4,381 an ounce set in October. Silver also climbed to a record and platinum advanced for an eighth straight session.

Brent climbed to around $61 a barrel with US forces boarding one tanker and pursuing another one near Venezuela within weeks of first capturing a vessel. Washington has been stepping up pressure on Venezuela’s government, with Trump aiming to choke off its key revenue stream.

Copper approached $12,000 a ton at the tail end of a momentous year dominated by trade turmoil, tight supply and optimism for long-term demand. The metal is on track for its biggest annual gain since 2009.

Japan Yields

Japanese markets remained in focus after the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest in 30 years on Friday. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda chose to keep his options open rather than bolster the yen, delivering a cautious rate hike that left the currency sliding toward levels which have triggered intervention in the past.

The yen, which had weakened to as much as 157.78 per dollar, found some strength on Monday as Atsushi Mimura, the nation’s chief currency official, said he was “deeply concerned” about what he termed as “one-directional, sudden moves,” especially after the monetary policy meeting. “We’d like to take appropriate responses against excessive moves,” Mimura told reporters.

Meanwhile, Japan’s benchmark 10-year yield climbed 7.5 basis points to 2.095%, a level unseen since February 1999. The two-year yield, which is sensitive to monetary policy expectations, rose to the highest since 1997.

“The sharp yen depreciation is seen as a factor pushing up yields, as it has fueled speculation that the timing of the next rate hike may be brought forward,” said Keisuke Tsuruta, a senior fixed-income strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. He added that yields are expected to remain elevated “given the market conditions after the BOJ meeting and lingering fiscal concerns.”

Treasuries also fell ahead of a two-year auction while a gauge of the dollar edged lower.

Elsewhere, China’s commercial banks kept the one-and five-year loan prime rates unchanged, as expectations grow that the People’s Bank of China may ease policy next year.

In terms of data, UK and US growth readings are due this week, as well as minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s December policy meeting which may give clues to whether it could hike in February. In Japan, Tokyo inflation as well as national jobs data are due, which may help traders assess the outlook for BOJ’s policy.

Corporate News

China Vanke Co., once the country’s biggest developer before it succumbed to an unprecedented property crisis, is heading into one of the most consequential days since it was founded in the 1980s as creditors holding a local bond finish voting Monday on several requests. A group of private equity firms led by Permira and Warburg Pincus has agreed to acquire Clearwater Analytics Holdings Inc. in a deal valuing the investment and accounting software maker at $8.4 billion including debt. Hedge fund firm Infini Capital Management Ltd. bought additional shares from China Ruyi Holdings Ltd. by a Friday deadline, escaping a HK$320 million ($41 million) penalty. Uber Technologies Inc. said it’s teaming up with Baidu Inc. to trial driverless taxis in the UK, following the lead of American self-driving technology company Waymo, which started tests in London this month. Chinese chipmakers are rushing to the IPO market, raising funds that are key to the nation’s goal of technological self-reliance and winning the global race on artificial intelligence. Seven & i Holdings Co.’s chief executive is pressing its US convenience-stores business to deliver a faster turnaround as the retailer seeks a public listing of the unit to fund new investment and lift shareholder returns. Li Ka-shing and his family set in motion a series of deals this year that stand to completely transform the Hong Kong billionaire’s business empire. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 2:29 p.m. Tokyo time S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.9% Japan’s Topix rose 0.6% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed The Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.2% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1% The euro was little changed at $1.1721 The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 157.31 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.0337 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $88,770.45 Ether rose 1.8% to $3,027.5 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.17% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 4.79% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $57.03 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.5% to $4,405.19 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Matthew Burgess, Chris Bourke and John Cheng.

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