Asian markets rose on Tuesday, supported by momentum buying ahead of the festive holidays and safe-haven demand for precious metals. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.39 per cent, while Tokyo's Nikkei edged down 0.1 per cent amid a stronger yen. Investors await the US third-quarter GDP figures, expected to show annualised growth of 3.3 per cent, slightly below the previous quarter as imports eased following earlier tariff-driven stockpiling. Risk-on sentiment dominated Wall Street, with Nvidia shares rising on plans to ship AI chips to China before the Lunar New Year and Novo Nordisk jumping 6 per cent after FDA approval of its weight-loss pill. In currencies, the yen rebounded 0.7 per cent to 155.99 against the dollar after Japan's Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama signalled readiness to intervene in the market if needed. The dollar softened, with the euro up 0.15 per cent at $1.1776 and sterling rising 0.24 per cent to $1.3493. China's CSI300 gained 0.4 per cent, while the Hang Seng remained flat, following announcements that the country will step up urban renewal and efforts to stabilise its property market in 2026. Attribution: Reuters
