San Francisco Frontiers - Precious metals fall again, Asian stocks swing as traders wind down

Traders were taking it easy in the last few days of 2025 following a stellar 12 months that have seen tech firms push several stock markets to all-time highs, while bitcoin, gold and silver have also enjoyed multiple peaks.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting -- at which it cut interest rates a third straight time -- are due to be released later in the day and will be scanned for an idea about whether a fourth can be expected in January.

The US central bank's monetary easing in the back end of this year has been a key driver of the markets' rally, compounding a surge in the tech sector on the back of the vast amounts of cash pumped into all things AI.

It has also helped offset recent worries about a possible tech bubble and warnings that traders might not see a return on their investments in artificial intelligence for some time.

Still, Asian markets have enjoyed a healthy year, with Seoul's Kospi piling on more than 75 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 more than 25 percent -- both having hit records earlier in the year.

Still, both edged down Tuesday, with Shanghai, Sydney and Taipei also lower. Hong Kong, Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta rose.

The mixed performance followed losses for all three main indexes on Wall Street.

The big moves of late have been seen in precious metals, with gold hitting a record just shy of $4,550. Silver, meanwhile, topped out at $84 after soaring around 150 percent this year.

Investors have been piling into the commodities on bets for more US rate cuts, a weaker dollar and geopolitical tensions.

Silver has also been boosted by increased central bank purchases and supply concerns.

However, both metals have pulled back sharply this week on profit-taking, with gold now around $4,340 and silver at $73.50.

Oil dipped, having jumped more than two percent Monday when investors rowed back bets on peace talks to end Russia's war with Ukraine as a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky ended with little progress.

That surge followed Friday's similar-sized rally on optimism for a breakthrough to end the nearly four-year conflict.

An end to the war could see sanctions on Russian oil removed, which would see a huge fresh supply hit the market.

Bitcoin, which has tumbled since spiking above $126,000 in October, was stabilising just below $90,000 after a shaky end to the year.

- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 50,465.35

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 25,675.05

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,954.87

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1770 from $1.1766 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3499 from $1.3504

Dollar/yen: UP at 156.30 yen from 156.06 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.20 pence from 87.00 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $57.91 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $61.75 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 48,461.93 (close)

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,866.53 (close)

B.Johnson--SFF