Asia markets advance as fed cut bets lift tech and push gold higher

October 02, 2025 (MLN): Asia markets advanced on Thursday, lifted by a strong rally in technology shares, while gold held close to record levels and the U.S. dollar weakened as investors increasingly priced in Federal Reserve interest rate cuts following disappointing U.S. labor market data.

Although the U.S. government shutdown is expected to delay the release of official payroll figures, private-sector data from ADP showed the U.S. economy unexpectedly lost jobs in September, with August numbers also revised lower.

The weak reading heightened expectations of quarter-point Fed rate cuts at both remaining policy meetings this year.

Wall Street responded with fresh record highs, supported by optimism over a looser policy environment.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (.SOX) surged more than 2%, a move that also buoyed Asian chipmakers.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 (.N225) added around 0.5%, Taiwan’s tech-focused Taiex (.TWII) jumped 1.5%, and South Korea’s KOSPI (.KS11) soared 2.8% after Samsung and SK Hynix announced new partnerships to supply OpenAI data centers.

“The ADP report signals the U.S. economy may be in urgent need of additional policy support,” said Kyle Rodda, analyst at Capital.com.

“Markets are now heavily discounting the likelihood of rate cuts in October and December. While the U.S. government shutdown initially caused jitters, investors appear to have shrugged it off for now.

Historically, shutdowns have had a minimal long-term impact, but the delay in key economic data could add uncertainty to the Fed’s outlook.”

The dovish shift in Fed expectations pushed gold to an all-time high of $3,895.09 before easing slightly to $3,865 during Asian hours. U.S. Treasury yields also retreated, with the two-year yield dropping to a two-week low of 3.531%.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index hovered near a one-week low at 97.672. The dollar was steady at 147.01 yen after a sharp three-day decline, while the euro edged up to $1.1738 and sterling traded at $1.3483.

In commodities, oil prices inched higher as traders anticipated tighter sanctions on Russian crude, aiming to break a three-day losing streak that had pushed benchmarks to 16-week lows.

Copyright Mettis Link News