Gold reached a new record high on Tuesday, driven by investors seeking safe-haven assets. The precious metal soared to $3,501.59 an ounce during early Asian trading, surpassing its previous record of $3,500.10 set in April. This surge is attributed to a weakened US dollar and anticipation of potential rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

In Asian markets, the Nikkei and Hang Seng indices saw gains, with the latter boosted by a strong performance from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Alibaba’s shares rose almost 20% on Monday, following the release of impressive financial results and significant growth in AI revenue. The Hang Seng index increased by 2.2% on Monday and added another 0.1% on Tuesday, while the Shanghai Composite also moved higher.

Chinese equities received further support from the Purchasing Managers’ Index, a key measure of industrial output, which showed improvement on Monday. According to Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets, Chinese companies are demonstrating tangible earnings growth from AI and cloud investments, unlike their US counterparts, which face questions about AI monetization and valuation.

The Nikkei index, which had lost 1.2% on Monday due to declines in chip shares, recovered some ground on Tuesday. Seoul’s market also moved higher, driven by recoveries in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, following concerns about their chip plants in China.

Wall Street was closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday, while the dollar traded mixed against its main rivals. The US market had retreated from record highs on Friday, following an accelerated inflation reading, which reduced the Federal Reserve’s room for maneuver.

As of 0300 GMT, key figures indicated a mixed performance across global markets. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.3% at 42,292.88, while the Hang Seng Index rose 0.1% to 25,644.02. The Shanghai Composite increased by 0.8% to 3,839.97. In currency markets, the euro/dollar and pound/dollar pairs were down, while the dollar/yen pair was up. Oil prices also saw gains, with Brent North Sea Crude rising 0.5% to $68.46 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 1.5% to $64.96 per barrel.

The recent developments in global markets reflect ongoing concerns about economic growth, inflation, and monetary policy. As investors continue to navigate these uncertainties, the performance of safe-haven assets like gold and the movements in major indices will be closely watched.