Asia stocks rise on AI optimism; Nikkei hits fresh records on leadership change

Asia stocks trade mostly higher in thin holiday trading on Tuesday following Wall Street’s overnight gains, driven by the landmark deal between OpenAI and AMD that lifted sentiment around global AI ￰0￱ markets were the clear regional outperformer, hitting fresh record highs as the rally continued from the previous ￰1￱ trading volumes were muted on account of market holidays in China, Hong Kong, and South ￰2￱ Donald Trump said Monday that all medium- and heavy-duty trucks imported into the US will face a 25% tariff starting November 1, according to ￰3￱ prices climbed to $3,970 per ounce on Tuesday, close to a record high reached earlier in the session.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) said on Tuesday it would establish a new financial policy committee, which would have the authority to set prudential requirements for banks and assist in making decisions on mortgage lending ￰4￱ ( NKY:IND ) rose 0.31% to above 48,200, while the broader Topix Index added 0.5% to 3,240 on Tuesday, with both benchmarks hitting fresh record ￰5￱ Japanese yen weakened to around 150.5 per dollar on Tuesday, sliding to its lowest level in over two months after fiscal dove and pro-stimulus lawmaker Sanae Takaichi won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership race over the ￰6￱ the data front, Japan’s household spending rose 2.3% in August, beating forecasts and marking the fastest growth in three months.

Japan’s foreign reserves rose by $17.1 billion to $1.34 trillion in September 2025, marking the highest level since March 2022. Japan’s leading economic index — which reflects the outlook for the coming months based on indicators such as job offers and consumer sentiment — rose to 107.4 in August 2025, up from July’s 106.1 and surpassing market forecasts of 107.1, preliminary estimates showed. Japan’s coincident economic index—which tracks key indicators such as factory output, employment, and retail sales—fell to 113.4 in August 2025 from 114.1 in the previous month, flash data ￰7￱ ( SHCOMP ) market closed. China’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 16.5 billion, or 0.50%, to USD 3.339 trillion in September 2025, up from USD 3.322 trillion in ￰8￱ Kong ( HSI ) market ￰9￱ ( SENSEX ) rose 0.41% to 82,164 in early deals on Tuesday, gaining for the fourth straight session and hitting their highest level since September ￰10￱ ( AS51 ) fell 0.27% to 8,953 on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session as weakness in the banking and consumer sectors weighed on the ￰11￱ Australian dollar edged higher to around $0.661 on Tuesday, marking its third consecutive session of gains, as markets dialed back expectations for near-term easing by the Reserve Bank of ￰12￱ the economic front, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index fell 3.5% month-on-month to 92.1 in October, marking the steepest contraction since April and reflecting rising household concerns over persistent ￰13￱ to the economic headwinds, ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads dropped 3.3% in September, marking the third consecutive monthly decline and the sharpest since February 2024, fueling worries about the labor market ￰14￱ now await comments from RBA officials and the release of consumer inflation expectations for October for further policy ￰15￱ the ￰16￱ Monday, all three major indexes ended higher with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rising 0.36% and 0.71% to new record highs, while the Dow slipped 0.14%, ending a six-day winning streak, driven by AI-related deal activity and expectations of a Federal Reserve rate ￰17￱ futures edged lower on Tuesday as the government shutdown stretched into a seventh day after competing Democrat and Republican funding proposals failed in the Senate: Dow -0.16% ; S&P 500 -0.05% ; Nasdaq -0.02%.

Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Japan services sector expands for sixth month, but jobless rate hits 13-month high Australia’s services sector expands for 20th straight month despite sharp slowdown in September Australian trade surplus plunges to seven-year low amid tariff impact, exports tumble 7.8% m/m China's official PMI shows slowed contraction, but private survey signals growth, creating mixed economic picture Bank of Japan signals readiness for more rate hikes, sees tariff impact as temporary growth slowdown