Asia markets mixed, silver hits record high

December 29, 2025 (MLN): Asia markets delivered a mixed performance on Monday as investors entered the final trading week of the year with caution, balancing regional market moves against strong cues from Wall Street.

In Japan, equities weakened, with the Nikkei 225 declining 0.55% and the broader Topix index slipping 0.26%.

South Korean stocks outperformed, as the Kospi advanced 0.62%, while the tech-heavy Kosdaq gained 0.19%.

Hong Kong markets moved higher, with the Hang Seng Index rising 0.7%, whereas China’s mainland CSI 300 index remained largely unchanged.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.21%, according to CNBC.

Commodity markets also drew attention after spot silver surged to a fresh all-time high above $80 per ounce before retreating sharply to around $77.

According to Sprott Asset Management, the strength in silver prices shows shrinking freely available inventories, which has intensified price volatility as demand picks up.

Meanwhile, U.S. equity futures were little changed during early Asian trading hours, following a strong finish on Wall Street ahead of the year-end holidays.

On Friday, the S&P 500 briefly touched a new record intraday high before closing marginally lower by 0.03% at 6,929.94.

The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.09% to 23,593.10, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 20.19 points, or 0.04%, to 48,710.97.

Despite the subdued daily close, U.S. markets capped off a solid week.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.4%, marking its fourth weekly gain in the past five weeks.

While both the Dow and the Nasdaq posted weekly advances of more than 1%, emphasizing continued investor confidence as the year draws to a close.

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