As of 02:30 close, SHFE gold most-active contract rose 2.13% to 970 yuan/gram; SHFE silver most-active contract rose 2.58% to 16,027 yuan/kg; SC crude oil most-active contract fell 0.70% to 581 yuan/barrel.

Tokyo University spin‑off Gaianixx is accelerating capacity expansion to capture rising AI-driven demand for chip materials. CEO Kento Nakao said the company will enlarge its Yamanashi technical centre southwest of Tokyo, which currently processes about 15,000 8‑inch wafers a year. Nakao said the firm’s most advanced project could enter trial production by year‑end, and that one Japanese customer and one overseas customer have committed to use Gaianixx materials to develop devices. The expansion comes as chipmakers increasingly seek performance gains from advanced materials amid slowing transistor‑scaling improvements.

Federal Reserve minutes said participants judged labor-market conditions broadly stable and labor supply and demand roughly balanced, with unemployment steady over the past year and near most participants' estimates of its longer-run level. Some participants said uncertainty around AI development and current and expected productivity gains have kept both hiring and layoffs low; in industries building AI, demand for tech workers is strong and has driven sharp wage gains for those roles. Other participants flagged lingering slack, citing low employment rates and elevated long-term unemployment. Several described nominal wage growth as moderate and consistent with inflation moving toward 2%, though some warned of upside risk to future wage growth.