Asian shares are mostly lower in quiet holiday trading as China stages
war drills near Taiwan
[December 29, 2025] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower in thin holiday trading as
China staged military exercises near the island of Taiwan.
The prices of gold and silver fell back after recent gains, while oil
prices advanced. U.S. futures were little changed.
Shares in Taiwan were higher even after China’s military said it was
conducting the drills around the self-governed island that Beijing
claims as its territory.
China said the drills were intended to warn against what it called
separatist and “external interference” forces. Taiwan placed its forces
on alert and called the Beijing government “the biggest destroyer of
peace.”
The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales to the
territory. That followed a comment by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae
Takaichi that Japan's defense forces could get involved if China were to
take action against Taiwan. The Chinese statement did not mention the
United States and Japan.
Taiwan's benchmark Taiex gained 0.9%, but the Hang Seng in Hong Kong
gave up early gains, falling 0.7% to 25,637.69. The Shanghai Composite
index was virtually unchanged at 3,965.28.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% to 50,526.92.
In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 2.2% to 4,220.56, less than 2 points
off its all-time record reached in early November. A 6.8% jump for SK
Hynix due to a regulatory change that lifted an investment warning for
its stock helped boost the benchmark. Samsung Electronics advanced 2.1%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.4% to 8,725.70.
The price of gold fell 1.3% to $4,494 per troy ounce, while silver
slipped 2.4% to $75.30. It has jumped to record levels on supply
constraints, as both precious metals have been favored by investors
seeking safe havens outside of stocks and bonds.
Earlier surges in gold prices also partly reflected worries during the
U.S. government shutdown. Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve
will cut interest rates further in the new year, weakening the dollar
against other currencies, have further fueled buying of gold.
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A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's
Nikkei index at a securities firm, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Tokyo.
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
 Silver, which is used in many
industries, has been influenced by other factors, too. China, which
refines about two-thirds of global supplies, has scrapped an export
quota system, replacing it with an export licensing system effective
Jan. 1.
“Scarcity is no longer theoretical,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset
Management said in a report. “China sits at the center of global
silver refining, and when the world's top refiner starts tightening
the valve, downstream users feel it immediately.”
Reopening Friday from the Christmas holiday, the S&P 500 index fell
less than 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell less
than 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.
With three trading days left in 2025, the S&P 500 has climbed nearly
18% this year, helped by the deregulatory policies of the Trump
administration and investor optimism about the future of artificial
intelligence.
Trading has been light, with institutional investors largely closed
out for the year.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 68
cents to $57.42 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international
standard, advanced 66 cents to $60.90 per barrel. On Friday, U.S.
crude oil fell 2.8% and Brent crude fell 2.6%.
The U.S. dollar fell to 156.23 Japanese yen from 156.56 yen. The
euro rose to $1.1777 from $1.1770.
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