Spot gold prices reached a high of $4,000, the first time since the yellow metal reached that price due to safe-haven demand, driving up the prices of the precious metal on Wednesday.
Head of commodities at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Vivek Dhar, said the recent surge is “likely reflects safe‑haven demand tied to the U.S. government shutdown and the resignation of Sebastien Lecornu as France’s prime minister.”
This follows a summer that witnessed U.S tariff-induced uncertainty in the world economy.
Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific moved sideways on Wednesday, defying the losses on Wall Street, following the increase in growth expectations in the region by the World Bank on Tuesday.
The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell by 1.01 percent. The surges in CF PharmTech are estimated to be more than 224 percent in its initial trading in Hong Kong. CF PharmTech is a pharmacy specialty company with a primary interest in respiratory diseases.
CF PharmTech had already raised an approximate of $78 million, with a share price of HKD14.75 each.
The move to list PharmTech is against a backdrop of a revival in the IPO market of the city of Hong Kong this year that has cumulatively raised approximately 14.1 billion in the first half of this year.
The top index of Japan, Nikkei 225, did not change much, and the Topix increased by 0.66 percent. The Japanese Yen dropped 0.38 percent to 152.48 against the greenback following a fall to the 150-mark on Monday.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 dropped to 0.3 percent. Mainland China and South Korean markets remain closed during holidays.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand reduced its benchmark interest rate to 2.5 percent by 50 basis points.
The New Zealand dollar was down 0.9 percent to 0.5746 per dollar. The bank stated in a media release that “Economic activity through the middle of 2025 was weak. In part, this reflects domestic constraints on the supply of goods and services in some industries, and the impact of global economic policy uncertainty.”
The Bank of Thailand will also issue its policy decisions later in the day.
In the U.S., the three major averages dropped overnight. The S&P 500 was a poor performer on Tuesday, dragged by a decline in Oracle stock as investors became concerned about the profitability of the artificial intelligence trade.
The large market index dropped 0.38 percent to close at 6,714.59, ending a 7-day winning streak, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.67 percent to end at 22,788.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 91.99 points or 0.2 to close at 46,602.98.
