CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks advanced in thin holiday trade on Friday after the S&P 500 ended higher for a fifth day in a shortened session on Wednesday ahead of the Christmas and Boxing holidays.
Regional trading volumes, remained thin, with markets in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and much of Europe shut for holidays.
Precious metals climbed, with silver surging past $75 per ounce for the first time and gold hitting a fresh record at $4,531 per ounce, driven by U.S. dollar weakness, rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela, and expectations for two Federal Reserve rate cuts by the end of 2026.
Oil traded higher as investors weighed Venezuela supply risks. The White House has reportedly ordered the U.S. military to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a 'quarantine' of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months.
Elsewhere, Ukraine has widened the scope of its attacks on Russian energy assets, targeting not only crude refineries but also pipelines and other facilities.
China's Shanghai Composite index inched up 0.10 percent to end at 3,963.68 after a choppy session. The yuan strengthened past the psychological milestone of 7 per dollar in offshore trading for the first time since September 2024 on bets China's central bank would allow gradual appreciation of the currency to boost market confidence.
The move came after the People's Bank of China strengthened its daily reference rate to the strongest level since September 2024.
Japanese markets surged after the government revised its economic forecast for the fiscal year to next March. It is believed that a record $785 billion budget unveiled for the next fiscal year will boost consumption and capital expenditure.
Investors shrugged off mixed data pointing to uneven economic recovery. Japan's industrial production fell more than expected in November, while retail sales posted modest growth. The unemployment rate for November remained at 2.6 percent, matching forecasts.
The Nikkei average rose 0.68 percent to 50,750.39 while the broader Topix index settled 0.15 percent higher at 3,423.06. Among the prominent gainers, Fast Retailing, SoftBank and Advantest all rose around 2 percent.
Seoul stocks closed higher, driven by sharp gains in big-cap tech shares. The Kospi average added 0.51 percent to close at 4,129.68, taking its annual gain to 72 percent.
Tech giant Samsung Electronics soared 5.3 percent, its chipmaking rival SK Hynix rallied 1.9 percent and artificial intelligence investment firm SK Square climbed 4.2 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks extended their winning streak to a fifth straight session on Wednesday as trading closed early on Christmas Eve.
Underlying sentiment was underpinned after data showed U.S. GDP rose at an annualized rate of 4.3 percent over the third quarter, far higher than the consensus estimate of 3.2 percent.
Unemployment claims fell for the second week in a row even as consumer confidence continued to falter.
The Dow rose 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to reach new record closing highs while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up by 0.2 percent.
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