Final stretch of 2025 shows mixed shares in global markets
Shares opened mixed in Europe on Tuesday after slipping in Asia as some regional markets wrapped up trading for the year.
Crude oil prices edged higher and gold and silver resumed their ascent. U.S. futures were flat.
In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi rang out the final session for 2025 in a traditional year-end ceremony.
“By realizing a Japanese economy that earns the trust of investors around the world, we will create a virtuous cycle in which global capital flows into Japan,” Takaichi said.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.4% to 50,339.48, its first year-end close above 50,000. It ended 2025 up nearly 25%.
With just two trading days left before the year ends, most big investors have closed out their positions and volume has been thin. Most global markets will be closed Thursday, New Year’s day, and some will also be closed Wednesday and Friday.
In early European trading, Germany’s DAX was nearly unchanged at 24,348.38. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 9.876.73, while the CAC 40 in Paris had barely budged at 8,112.37.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.9% to 25,854.60, while the Shanghai Composite index was virtually unchanged at 3,965.51.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,717.10.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2% to 4,214.17, while Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.4%.
India’s Sensex was down less than 0.1%.
On Monday, stocks slipped in quiet trading on Wall Street. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%. It’s still up more than 17% for the year and it remains on track for its eighth monthly gain in a row.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%.
Big technology stocks with outsized valuations were among the heaviest weights on the market. Nvidia and several other companies focusing on AI or benefiting heavily from the developing technology have become some of the most valuable in the world.
Nvidia fell 1.2% and Broadcom fell 0.8%.
Tech shares have wobbled recently as investors have grown skeptical over the whether the eventual payoff will justify hefty investments in artificial intelligence.
The price of gold gained 0.7% early Tuesday after falling 4.6% the day before. It’s up about 64% for the year.
Silver prices gained 4.4% after slumping 8.7% on Monday. They have more than doubled in 2025.
The precious metals fell back on Monday when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the largest trading floors for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious metals.
Treasury yields fell in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.11% from 4.13% late Friday.
Treasury yields have fallen significantly from the start of the year, after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate to help counter a slowing jobs market. That risks heating up inflation that is already stubbornly above the central bank’s target rate of 2%. Interest rate cuts could boost the economy by making loans less expensive, but that benefit could be nullified by rising inflation stunting economic growth.
In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. crude oil gained 14 cents to $58.22 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 12 cents to $61.61 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar slipped to 156.00 Japanese yen from 156.05 yen. The euro fell to $1.1769 from $1.1774.
AP video journalist Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.
—Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer