Stocks Edge Up as Gold, Silver Climb to Records: Markets Wrap

3pyklb0wgd45wrldn22jvtuq_media_dl_1.png MSCI, Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Stocks posted modest gains in Asia as the year-end rally extended, while gold and silver advanced to records. Trading was thin as a number of the region’s markets remained shut for holidays.

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MSCI’s regional stock gauge rose for a sixth day after US shares closed at a record high on Wednesday before the Christmas break. Treasuries edged lower in Asia with the yield on the benchmark 10-year climbing one basis point to 4.15%. A gauge of the dollar was little changed.

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Gold and silver jumped as escalating geopolitical tensions and dollar weakness helped extend a historic rally for precious metals. Spot silver advanced for a fifth straight session, climbing as much as 4.5% to cross $75 an ounce for the first time. Gold, set for its best annual advance since 1979, rose as much as 1.2% to above $4,500 an ounce.

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Equity bulls are pinning their optimism on what’s known as the “Santa Claus Rally” to push stocks to fresh records even as exuberance over artificial intelligence and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path are being questioned. The rally is traditionally seen as taking place on the final five trading sessions of a year and the first two of the new one. 

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“As equity markets enter the fourth year of a bull market, our underlying market call remains constructive,” Scott Chronert, head of US equities strategy at Citigroup Inc., wrote in a note this week. “The current fundamental backdrop clearly has the opportunity for an ongoing AI-related tailwind to large-cap growth.”

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The S&P 500 Index gained for a fifth day Wednesday in a shortened session ahead of the Christmas holiday. The VIX index of the S&P 500’s expected volatility fell to the lowest this year.

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Elsewhere, oil headed for the biggest weekly gain since late October, as traders tracked a partial US blockade of crude shipments from Venezuela and a military strike by Washington against a terrorist group in Nigeria.

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The yen fell 0.3% to trade at about 156.29 to the dollar after Tokyo’s inflation cooled more than expected as pressures from food and energy prices faded. That triggered weakness in the currency on bets the Bank of Japan may delay the timing of its next rate hike.

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A key move on Thursday was China’s yuan strengthening past the psychological milestone of 7 per dollar in offshore trading for the first time since September 2024. Gains have been driven by speculation the central bank will allow gradual currency appreciation to boost market confidence. 

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That came after the People’s Bank of China strengthened its daily reference rate to the strongest level since September 2024.

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