Asian shares climb after US stocks rise at the start of a
holiday-shortened week
[December 23, 2025] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday after benchmarks on Wall
Street rose at the start of what’s expected to be a relatively calm
holiday week.
U.S. futures were nearly unchanged.
Touching new records, the price of gold rose 1.1% early Tuesday to
4,519.50, adding to its consistent gains throughout the year, while
silver rose 1.5%.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was flat at 50,412,87 and the dollar fell against the
Japanese yen after officials in Tokyo warned they would intervene if the
yen weakened sharply.
The dollar was trading at 156.01 yen, down from 157.04 yen late Monday.
The euro climbed to $1.1782 from $1.1762.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave up early gains to fall 0.1% to 25,774.14. The
Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher, to 3,919.98.
South Korea's Kospi added 0.3% to 4,117.32, while the S&P/ASX 200 in
Australia jumped 1.1% to 8,795.70.
In Taiwan, the Taiex advanced 0.6%, while India's Sensex was nearly
unchanged.
Markets in the U.S. will close early on Wednesday for Christmas Eve and
remain closed on Thursday for Christmas. The short week for trading
includes several economic reports that could shed more light on the
condition and direction of the U.S. economy.
On Tuesday, the government will release the first of three estimates on
gross domestic product, a reflection of how the broader U.S. economy
fared in the third quarter. On Wednesday, the Labor Department will
release its weekly data on applications for jobless benefits, which
stands as a proxy for U.S. layoffs.
The Conference Board offers up results from its December consumer
confidence survey on Tuesday as well.
On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
gained 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite picked up 0.5%.
Smaller company stocks did particularly well. The Russell 2000 index
outpaced other major indexes with a 1.2% gain.
The gains also helped major indexes push further into winning territory
for the month as a choppy December nears its end. Technology companies,
especially those focused on artificial intelligence, have been the main
force behind the market's oscillations. The direction of AI-related
stocks will likely determine whether the market closes out December with
gains or losses.
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A dealer works near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock
Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between
U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in
Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
 Uber rose 2.5% and Lyft rose 2.7%
after announcing plans to bring robotaxi services to London next
year.
Paramount Skydance rose 4.3%. The company sweetened its hostile
takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery with an “irrevocable
personal guarantee” from Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and
father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. He is putting up billions of
dollars to back the deal as part of the latest move in Paramount's
bidding war against Netflix.
Warner Bros. Discovery rose 3.5% and Netflix fell 1.2%.
Dominion Energy fell 3.7% after the Trump administration said it is
pausing leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects. They
include Dominion's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
Oil prices were flat after jumping more than 2% on Monday when the
U.S. Coast Guard said it was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker
in the Caribbean.
U.S. benchmark crude was unchanged at $58.01 per barrel. The price
of Brent crude, the international standard, gained 7 cents to $62.14
per barrel.
Recent reports have shown that U.S. inflation remains elevated and
consumer confidence has faded over the last year. Overall, the job
market has been slowing and retail sales have weakened.
The ongoing and wide-ranging U.S. trade war has been hanging over
consumers and businesses already squeezed and worried by higher
prices. The mix of stubbornly high inflation and a weaker jobs
market has also put the Fed in an awkward policy position moving
forward.
Still, Wall Street is mostly betting that the Fed will hold steady
on interest rates at its meeting in January. It has cut its
benchmark interest rate at its last three meetings, even though
inflation has remained stubbornly above its 2% target.
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