Asian Shares Mostly Higher In Thin Holiday Trade

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks were mostly higher on Friday after ending 2025 on a subdued note.

Regional trading volumes remain thin due to holidays in Japan, China and New Zealand.

The dollar was weak after its sharpest drop in eight years. As economic uncertainties mount, investors wait to see whether the next Federal Reserve chief would opt for deeper interest-rate cuts.

Current head Jerome Powell's term ends in May and President Donald Trump already said that he wants to see interest rates go down to 1 percent.

Gold was up nearly 1 percent after recording its biggest jump since the 1979 oil crisis in 2025.

Amid expectations of two additional Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, investors now await the release of key economic data including the U.S. payrolls report and jobless data next week for additional clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Oil was little changed on the first trading day of 2026 post its biggest annual drop since 2020, with an upcoming OPEC+ meeting and geopolitical concerns in focus.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 1.3 percent after ending 2025 with a gain of almost 28 percent, its best annual performance since 2017.

Seoul stocks were notably higher in the first trading session of 2026. The Kospi average was up 0.65 percent at 4,241 as tech stocks surged on retail buying.

Australian markets were little changed, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 trading marginally higher at 8,723. Mining and gold stocks slipped after Northern Star Resources cut its annual production guidance.

U.S. and European markets were closed on Thursday for the New Year holiday. On Wednesday, U.S. stocks ended lower for a fourth consecutive session in light New Year's Eve trading.

The Dow shed 0.6 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8 percent and the S&P 500 gave up 0.7 percent as minutes from the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting revealed deep divisions among policymakers over the path of interest rates in 2026.

In economic releases, data showed new claims for unemployment benefits fell in holiday week but stayed near a monthslong range.

The major U.S. indexes notched big annual gains after a roller-coaster year dominated by President Trump's tariff uncertainties and a euphoria around AI-linked stocks.

The Nasdaq Composite skyrocketed by 20.4 percent for the year, while the S&P 500 soared by 16.4 percent and the Dow surged by 13.0 percent.