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Gold and silver prices fell sharply on Wednesday as the dollar soared in the wake of the U.S. midterm elections, and the market bemoaned the lack of Asian buyers.
Trading around four-year lows, gold for December delivery GCZ4, -0.13% shed $22, or 1.9%, to settle at $1,145.70 an ounce, marking its sixth straight loss.
U.S. crude-oil futures settled higher Wednesday after a U.S. supply report showed a smaller-than-expected increase in crude inventories.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in December CLZ4, +0.23% rose $1.49, or 1.9%, to settle at $78.68 a barrel. That snapped a four-session losing streak that took prices to their lowest in three years. It was also oil’s largest one-day gain in nearly two weeks.
December Brent crude LCOZ4, +0.14% on London’s ICE Futures exchange gained 13 cents, or 0.2%, to finish at $82.95 a barrel. That put an end to four straight sessions of losses that had sent Brent to a four-year low on Tuesday.
Here are the latest trading levels for Asia's major stock markets:
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) up 0.6%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) down 0.2%
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) down 0.5% (at break)
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) down 0.3%
Seoul (Kospi) flat
Mumbai (Sensex) closed for holiday Taipei (Taiex) down 0.3%
Asian markets were mixed Thursday following a record close on Wall Street, while the dollar pushed towards 115 yen for the first time in seven years, after Republicans took control of the US Congress.
Focus will now be on the release Friday of US jobs data, which will give the latest snapshot of the economy and give an idea about the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates.
Tokyo stocks rose 0.37 per cent, as last week's Bank of Japan monetary easing announcement helped the Nikkei to a fifth straight gain that has seen it clock up more than 10 per cent.
Seoul gained 0.18 per cent, Hong Kong dipped 0.10 per cent and Sydney lost 0.11 per cent while Shanghai was flat.
MALAYSIA share prices opened flat on Thursday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index up 0.04 points to 1838.89.
Volume was 48.98 million lots worth RM20.25 million.
Gainers outnumbered losers 132 to 38.
