Bloomberg, (31/12) -- Futures on stock indexes from South Korea to Hong Kong rose while contracts on Australian equities fell as benchmark U.S. gauges closed at or near record highs and Treasuries climbed. Silver and gold held declines after driving a retreat in commodities yesterday.
Futures upon Koreas Kospi Index added 0.3 percent in their latest trading session, while contracts upon the Hang Seng and Hang Seng China Enterprises indexes climbed at least 0.3 percent. S&P/ASX 200 Index futures lost 0.1 percent by 8 a.m. in Sydney. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent to an all-time high while the Standard & Poors 500 Index was tiny changed at 1,841.07. Ten-year Treasury yields fell three basis points. Gold and silver slid at least 1.4 percent yesterday.
While the Nikkei 225 Stock Average capped its best year since 1972 yesterday, valuations upon Asian stocks outside Japan are trailing those for global equities by the most since 2005, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Korea issues inflation data today and Australia reports upon private sector credit, while Japan is upon holiday until Jan. 6 and Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand dont resume trading until Jan. 2. In the U.S., house price and consumer confidence reports are due.