Asian markets and gold prices climb on US government reopening hopes.

Asian markets and gold prices climb on US government reopening hopes.

Gold jumped 3 percent in overnight trading and was trading above $4,100 in Asian morning trading. The Nasdaq rose 2.3 percent, recovering some of last week’s losses on concerns about the valuation and profitability of AI companies.

Asian indices also rose, with South Korea’s Kospi up 2.1 percent and Japan’s Nikkei up 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong and China also opened in positive territory. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1 percent.

A deal that would reopen the US federal government and end the country’s longest government shutdown in history cleared its first hurdle in the US Senate on Sunday, November 8, but final details and when Congress will approve it are still unclear.

Markets have reacted positively with relative calm, but nothing is certain yet, said Vasu Menon, chief investment officer at OCBC in Singapore. “The government reopening will lead to a resumption of data releases and strengthen the case for a rate cut, which will provide additional support for gold prices,” he added.

Demand for safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen and U.S. Treasuries eased, and risk appetite increased. The yen fell to its lowest level since March of last year at 154.49, but bonds recovered some of their losses as Federal Reserve spokesmen expressed skepticism about a rate cut in the coming months.

“The government reopening will not lead to a sustained rate cut because markets did not initially react strongly to the government shutdown,” said Jack Chambers, chief interest rate strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.