The Asia-Pacific markets were trading mixed on Monday, as investors began the last week of the year in the final trading. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 0.55 percent, while the Topix fell 0.26 percent. The Kospi of South Korea surged by 0.62 percent, and the Kosdaq index increased by 0.19 percent.
Therefore, the Hang Seng index of Hong Kong rose 0.7, but the CSI 300 of the mainland remained flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down by 0.21 percent.
Spot silver soared to a new record high of over $80 per ounce and then declined drastically to $77. The experts reported that the recent rise of silver was fuelled by speculative purchasing and supply tightness that remained.
Sprott Asset Management reported that the rise in silver this year is due to a shortage of freely traded inventory, which would enhance a price movement as demand rises.
Senior Investment Analyst at Global X ETFs, Trevor Yates, said, “Silver continues to price in the more favorable 2026 macro-outlook, with lower interest rates and the potential for a weaker U.S. dollar boosting the appeal for hard assets.”
However, the early Asian markets saw the U.S. equity futures flat. The S&P 500 recorded a new high and reported on weekly gains as traders came back from the Christmas holiday on Friday stateside.
The broad-based market index dropped 0.03 percent to close at 6,929.94. At its high, the S&P 500 was up 0.2 percent, reaching 6,945.77. The Nasdaq Composite has fallen by 0.09 percent and ended at 23,593.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 20.19 points, or 0.04 percent, and settled at 48,710.97.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 increased 1.4 percent in the week, marking its fourth consecutive weekly gain in five weeks. The Dow and Nasdaq were also higher by over 1 percent week to date.
