Asia markets dip while gold hits fresh record amid investor flight to safety

Asian markets slipped on Wednesday as investor jitters over political uncertainty and central bank independence pushed gold to a new all-time high, extending its six-day rally.

Gold soared to $3,546.96 an ounce, up 0.4% in early Asian trading, marking a fresh record for bullion. The precious metal has surged 5% over the past six sessions as equities and bonds faced sharp selloffs, and traders scrambled for safe-haven assets.

The rally comes amid growing concerns about the future of the US Federal Reserve after President Donald Trump reportedly attempted to fire Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, rattling market confidence.

“President Trump’s return to the White House may have altered investor preference for safe havens,” said Carol Kong of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “Gold outperformed, gaining more than 30% year-to-date. The risk is the USD further loses its safe haven appeal if President Trump continues to undermine the independence of key US institutions.”

Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management described bullion as a “last resort” as global markets face a convergence of stress points, including rising bond yields, tech-related trade tensions, and currency volatility.

Asia markets under pressure

In Japan, political uncertainty weighed on sentiment after the ruling party’s number two offered to resign following a poor showing in July’s upper house election. The Topix Index fell 0.5% to 3,067.11, while the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to 42,165.54 in early trade.

“Traders are seeing uncertainty building around the political outlook for Japan, which is jacking up volatility,” said Anna Wu, cross-asset investment strategist at VanEck.

Other key Asian markets were mixed. Shanghai’s Composite Index dropped 0.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.1%.

Global markets and currency snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: 0.25% at 42,206.05

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: 0.1% at 25,534.44

Shanghai – Composite: 0.6% at 3,837.61

New York – Dow Jones Industrial Average: 0.6% at 45,295.81

Currencies:

Euro/dollar: at 1.1627 from 1.1640

Pound/dollar: at 1.3365 from 1.3394

Dollar/yen: at 148.87 from 148.37

Euro/pound: at 86.99 pence from 86.92

Commodities:

Brent crude: flat at $69.13 per barrel

WTI crude: 0.8% at $65.64 per barrel

With ongoing political turmoil, renewed trade tensions, and questions over central bank stability, investors appear increasingly risk-averse — and gold remains their asset of choice.