Reopening rebound runs on, with rate cuts in sight

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets

By Tom Westbrook, Chief Correspondent, Asia Markets

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The longest U.S. government shutdown on record looks to be nearly over, and traders are riding the tail end of a wave of relief that began late last week.

The Senate approved a compromise that would restore U.S. government funding. It next heads to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would like to pass it as soon as Wednesday and send it on to President Donald Trump to sign into law.

A raw gold bar is displayed at Nigeria's booth at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) venue in Shanghai, China, November 5, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Gold and the Nasdaq have logged their best gains in months, with gold in particular attempting to recover the momentum that shot it to record highs in October with an added boost from bets on future U.S. interest rate cuts.

Asian share markets were mostly steady or a little higher through Tuesday and the risk-on mood pushed the safe-haven yen to a nine-month low.

The U.S. bond market is closed on Tuesday for a holiday, but long bonds have been sold and shorter ones were steadier, reflecting markets' shift out of riskier assets as well as an expectation that the resumption of U.S. data publication builds a case for rate cuts.

Elsewhere, Japanese tech investor SoftBank Group is about to report second-quarter earnings in the midst of feverish investment in artificial intelligence that has sent its share price soaring.

Sony raised its operating profit forecast for the year ending March 2026 by 8%, citing a smaller impact from U.S. tariffs and the strength of its music and chips businesses.

In Australia, shares in one of the world's most expensive banks, Commonwealth Bank, fell nearly 5% after the country's biggest lender said competition was cutting margins.

In China, Tuesday is Singles Day and the culmination of what has evolved into a weeks-long shopping bonanza. Last year, 1.44 trillion yuan ($202 billion) of goods were sold during the period. That's almost five times the $41.1 billion U.S. shoppers spent last year during Cyber Week, the period from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.

Graphics are produced by Reuters.

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