Hong Kong, Jan 13 (AP) Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday, led by a strong rally in Japan after Wall Street closed at fresh record highs overnight. US futures edged lower, while oil prices gained.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 surged 3.1 per cent to close at a record 53,549.16, driven by gains in technology-related stocks. Chip testing equipment maker Advantest jumped 8.5 per cent, chipmaker Tokyo Electron rose 8.2 per cent, and SoftBank Group advanced 4.3 per cent.
Investors are also closely watching political developments, with expectations of a possible snap election. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is widely expected to opt for an early election to strengthen her mandate for higher government spending.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.7 per cent to 26,786.69. Shares of China-based chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor surged as much as 54 per cent in their Hong Kong trading debut. In contrast, the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.6 per cent to 4,138.76.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.5 per cent to close at a record 4,692.64.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained nearly 0.6 per cent to 8,808.50. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.5 per cent, while India’s Sensex fell nearly 0.5 per cent.
US stock futures were slightly lower early Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both down nearly 0.1 per cent.
On Wall Street, investor concerns about the potential impact of a weakening of the Federal Reserve’s independence in setting interest rates appeared to be offset by expectations that President Donald Trump may succeed in pushing the central bank to cut rates more aggressively. Lower interest rates typically reduce borrowing costs and help support higher stock prices.
Tensions between Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell intensified after the US Department of Justice subpoenaed the Fed and threatened a criminal indictment over Powell’s testimony related to renovations at the central bank’s headquarters.
On Monday, the S&P 500 rose nearly 0.2 per cent to a new record of 6,977.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 0.2 per cent to a record 49,590.20, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.3 per cent to 23,733.90.
Trump has repeatedly urged the Fed to cut interest rates further to reduce borrowing costs for households and businesses, even after the central bank lowered rates three times in 2025. The White House said on Monday that Trump did not direct the Justice Department to investigate Powell.
Shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, rose 1 per cent, lifting its market value above USD 4 trillion, after Apple announced it would use Google’s Gemini technology to enhance its virtual assistant Siri under a new agreement.
Credit card companies led losses after Trump said he wanted to impose a one-year cap of 10 per cent on credit card interest rates, a move that could dent profits. Synchrony Financial fell 8.4 per cent, Capital One Financial dropped 6.4 per cent, and American Express declined 4.3 per cent.
In other early trading, gold prices slipped 0.5 per cent, while silver edged down 0.1 per cent.
The US dollar strengthened to 158.79 yen from 158.07 yen and has been trading near its highest level in a year. The euro slipped to USD 1.1664 from USD 1.1667. (AP) SKS