Stock markets across Asia experienced a mostly subdued session on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, echoing a slight retreat on Wall Street as the final trading days of the year unfolded. With many major investors having already closed their books, trading volumes remained thin across global exchanges.
Regional Markets Show Mixed Picture
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged less than 0.1% lower to 50,519.12. Hong Kong's Hang Seng provided a rare bright spot, climbing 0.5% to 25,751.64, while the Shanghai Composite in mainland China dipped 0.1% to 3,961.21. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also slipped 0.1% to 8,719.10.
Movements elsewhere were minimal. South Korea's Kospi inched up by less than two points to 4,221.64, and Taiwan's Taiex shed 0.2%. The quiet tone was set by the previous session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,905.74. Despite the dip, the key US index remains on track for an impressive eighth consecutive monthly gain and is up more than 17% for the year.
Tech Stocks Weigh on Sentiment
The decline on Monday was partly driven by pressure on major technology stocks, whose lofty valuations have made them susceptible to shifts in investor mood. Shares in AI-focused giants, which have become some of the world's most valuable companies, lost ground. Nvidia fell 1.2% and Broadcom declined 0.8%.
This reflects growing investor scepticism about whether the eventual financial returns from heavy investments in artificial intelligence will justify the current high prices. In contrast, energy stocks gained alongside rising oil prices, with Exxon Mobil rising 1.2%.
Commodities and Currencies in Focus
Commodity markets saw notable activity. After a sharp pullback on Monday, gold and silver prices resumed their upward climb. Early Tuesday, gold gained 0.9%, putting it about 64% higher for the year, while silver jumped 5.2%, having more than doubled in value during 2025.
In the oil market, US benchmark crude was unchanged early Tuesday after a 2.4% jump the previous day to $58.08 per barrel. The international standard, Brent crude, dipped slightly, losing 1 cent to $61.48 a barrel.
In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell to 4.11%. Yields have fallen significantly from the start of the year following Federal Reserve interest rate cuts designed to counter a slowing jobs market—a move that risks fuelling inflation already above the central bank's 2% target.
The US dollar was virtually unchanged against the Japanese yen at 156.03, while the euro strengthened slightly to $1.1779.
