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MSCI Inc.'s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks declined 0.1% in early trade. S&P 500 Index contracts also edged lower post the US benchmark slipped 0.3% on Monday and the Nasdaq 100 declined 0.5%. Tesla, Nvidia and Meta were among the Big Tech decliners in the trade session.
The Asian stocks rally witnessed a pause post a seven-day run, tracking technology-led declines on the Wall Street. Silver and gold fluctuated following a slump from fresh record highs.
MSCI Inc.'s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks declined 0.1% in early trade. S&P 500 Index contracts also edged lower post the US benchmark slipped 0.3% on Monday and the Nasdaq 100 declined 0.5%. Tesla, Nvidia and Meta were among the Big Tech decliners in the trade session.
A gauge of global equities ended a seven-day winning streak on Monday while still staying on course to cap its best year since 2019. Silver continued to be volatile after tumbling 9% in the previous session, a selloff that followed a historic surge powered by speculative trades and fears of a supply shortage.
For several Asian equity markets, including South Korea, Japan and Thailand, Tuesday marks the last trade session of the year.
The MSCI All Country World Index has climbed 21% in 2025 and a measure of Asian stocks has rallied almost 26%. Even as the S&P 500 — up some 17% — has underperformed many global peers, an optimistic consensus is taking hold that US stocks will continue rallying in 2026 after three straight years of gains.
Despite a raft of risks spanning a potential bust in the artificial-intelligence advance to unanticipated policy shocks, sell-side strategists are forecasting another 9% average gain in the S&P 500 next year.
Meantime, President Donald Trump teased that he has a preferred candidate to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, but is in no hurry to make an announcement — while also musing that he might fire the central bank’s current leader, Jerome Powell.
Investors were also assessing the outlook for US interest rates and monetary policy. Wall Street interest-rate strategists — with several notable exceptions — expect stable-to-higher Treasury yields in 2026 despite Fed interest-rate cuts.
The Fed is due to release minutes of its December meeting later on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in markets, Bitcoin was little changed. The cryptocurrency topped $90,000 in the last session before erasing its gain. A gauge of the dollar was steady.
Oil held the bulk of a gain as traders weighed geopolitical tensions from Venezuela to Russia and Iran against concerns about a glut. West Texas Intermediate traded near $58 a barrel after rising 2.4% on Monday, while Brent settled below $62.
With inputs from Bloomberg
