Asia Weakens at Open, Gold Clings to $4,000
Wednesday, October 8, 2025: Asian stocks opened slightly lower. The regional MSCI index fell around 0.2%, led by weakness in the technology sector, following Wall Street's decline (S&P 500 -0.4%). On the commodities front, gold approached $4,000/oz, confirming the appetite for safe haven assets. The yen weakened for a fifth day to its lowest level since February, as markets digested Sanae Takaichi's victory as the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
In the US, concerns about an "AI bubble" resurfaced after a series of multi-billion dollar deals in AI infrastructure. The risk of profit-taking is considered elevated, particularly on the Nasdaq, although some analysts believe there are no new triggers that seriously threaten the bull trend. Sentiment remains fragile due to stretched valuations, shutdown uncertainty, and a temporary rotation out of technology stocks.
On the policy front, comments from Fed officials were mixed: some saw room for further easing, while others warned that aggressive cuts could trigger inflation. In the region, Vietnam was upgraded to an emerging market by the FTSE Russell (potentially opening the floodgates for capital flows), while the RBNZ and the Bank of Japan are both expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points today. Oil edged higher after an industry report showed a decline in inventories at the Cushing hub in the US.
Corporate news: xAI (backed by Elon Musk) is targeting up to $20 billion in funding, including equity investment from Nvidia. Oracle plummeted after a below-expected cloud margin report. Tesla released a new variant of its flagship model under $40,000 to offset the loss of US EV incentives. Dell raised its growth forecast for the next two years, with AI demand expected to continue at least until fiscal 2030. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
