Asian shares surge, led by records in Japan and South Korea, as markets regain momentum

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 climbed 3.9% to finish at 54,720.66, its highest close ever. Shares in equipment maker Disco Corp. jumped 7.1% while those in testing equipment maker Advantest gained 7%.

Share prices have been boosted by expectations that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party will regain a significant majority in the parliament in a Feb. 8 election, ushering in more market-friendly policies.

In South Korea, the Kospi gained 6.7% to 5,280.92, also a record. Investors appeared to regain confidence after the latest scare over a possible bubble in artificial intelligence as shares in Samsung Electronics Co. soared 11.2% while those in chip maker SK Hynix rocketed up 9.2%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.3% to 26,844.51, while the Shanghai Composite added 1.3% to 4,066.48.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.9% to 8,857.10. Australia’s central bank raised its benchmark policy rate for the first time in two years, citing higher inflation than anticipated before it last cut rates.

On Monday, U.S. share prices rose while gold and silver prices sank further following their latest wild moves. The S&P 500 added 0.5% to 6,976.44, snapping a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% to 49,407.66, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6% to 23,592.11.

Sandisk leaped 15.4% to lead the S&P 500. The data-storage company added to its 6.9% gain from Friday, after it reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It credited demand created by the artificial-intelligence boom, among other things. That helped offset a 2.9% drop for Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the world’s move into AI technology.

The Walt Disney Co. fell 7.4% even though the entertainment giant reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It warned of challenges, such as international visitors declining at its U.S. theme parks.

Shares in software company Palantir Technologies soared 7% in after-hours trading after it reported its revenue in the last quarter climbed 70%.

The center of action in financial markets was again precious metals, where prices have yoyoed after stellar gains. Gold’s price have roughly doubled in just 12 months.

Gold gained 5.4% on Tuesday, while silver’s price rebounded by 10.2%.

Gold and silver prices have surged as investors search for safer things to own at a time of uncertainty over the status of the Federal Reserve, which may be set to become less independent, a U.S. stock market that critics say is expensive, threats of tariffs and heavy debt loads for governments worldwide.

Their prices cratered on Friday, including a 31.4% plunge for silver. Some on Wall Street saw it as a result of President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Fed.

The Fed’s chair has a big influence on the economy and markets worldwide by helping to dictate where the U.S. central bank moves interest rates. That affects prices for all kinds of investments, as the Fed tries to keep the U.S. job market humming without letting inflation get out of control.

In other dealings early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude fell 34 cents to $61.80 a barrel. Brent crude shed 34 cents to $65.96 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar declined to 155.45 Japanese yen from 155.61 yen. The euro cost $1.1816, up from $1.1791.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama