Buoyed by fresh record highs on Wall Street, most Asian stock markets climbed higher on Tuesday, with Japanese equities leading the gains. U.S. stock index futures edged lower, while international oil prices rose. Tokyo stocks, resuming trade after a holiday, saw the Nikkei 225 index surge 3.1%, reaching an all-time intraday high of 53,814.79 points, with technology stocks providing the primary thrust for the benchmark index's advance. Semiconductor test equipment maker Advantest soared 8.5%, chip manufacturer Tokyo Electron gained 8.3%, and SoftBank Group rose 4.3%. Investors are also closely monitoring the possibility of an early general election. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to announce an early election to strengthen her policy mandate for increasing government spending. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1% to 26,877.01 points. Chinese chip design firm Giga Device Semiconductor, which debuted on the Hong Kong Exchange, saw its shares surge 54% in early trading. The Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.1% to 4,163.84 points. South Korea's Kospi index gained 0.6% to 4,651.67 points, also setting a new intraday record high. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.8% to 8,830.60 points. Taiwan's Weighted Index rose 0.5%, while India's Sensex index fell 0.3%. On Wall Street, investor concerns that the Federal Reserve's independence in setting interest rates could be compromised, potentially triggering a chain reaction, were offset by the expectation that President Donald Trump might push the Fed to accelerate the pace of interest rate cuts. Lower interest rates, implying cheaper credit, typically provide a tailwind for stock prices. Tensions between Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell escalated further after the U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed the Fed and threatened criminal charges over Powell's testimony regarding the renovation of the Fed's headquarters building. On Monday, the S&P 500 rose nearly 0.2% to close at 6,977.27, marking another record high; the Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged up 0.2% to finish at 49,590.20, likewise setting a new record; and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3% to close at 23,733.90. Despite the Fed having cut rates three times in 2025, Trump has repeatedly called for further reductions to lower borrowing costs for households and businesses. The White House stated on Monday that Trump did not direct the Justice Department to investigate Powell. Apple announced a new collaboration with Alphabet to enhance its intelligent voice assistant Siri using Alphabet's Gemini technology. Following this news, shares of Alphabet rose 1%, pushing its market capitalization above $4 trillion. Credit card stocks led the market's declines after Trump indicated plans to introduce a one-year cap on credit card interest rates, setting the ceiling at 10%, a move that could squeeze profit margins for credit card companies. Synchrony Financial's stock fell 8.4%, Capital One Financial declined 6.4%, and American Express dipped 4.3%. In other early Tuesday trading, the price of gold fell 0.2%, while silver prices rose 0.8%. The U.S. dollar rose against the yen to 158.72, up from 158.07 in the previous session, with the exchange rate now hovering near its highest level in a year. The euro edged lower against the U.S. dollar, falling to $1.1666 from $1.1667.
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