Published on December 29, 2025, at 06:00 JST by JADA NAGUMO
With 2025 fast approaching, investors are beginning to pivot. Their focused attention on specific assets most impacted by tectonic market shifts. As global markets rumbled under the stress of the “flight to quality” phenomenon earlier this year, many investors turned to gold as a safe haven. In the second half of 2023, international stock markets were up sharply, fueled in large part by the exploding artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
The year started out in doubt, causing investors to pour into gold in search of a safe haven. This was fueled by increased economic volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, which led to a re-evaluation of risk throughout investment portfolios. Gold prices saw some of the biggest single-day increases ever recorded, thus illustrating the rush to gold from investors looking for safety in volatile markets.
Then, in the latter half of 2025, the rebound in global stock markets was nothing short of astounding. This increase was primarily driven by the rapid development of AI technology. Big business in every sector announced record profits, lifted by the recent technological advances that made everything run faster and more efficiently. The tech boom has overnight – literally – changed market sentiment. Now, institutional and retail investors alike are rapidly turning their attention to the new opportunities to profit from.
This political underbelly to the narrative on market dynamics underscores the importance of politics. In particular, the impact of former President Donald Trump is unique. Trump’s policies and rhetoric, as analysts have noticed, have an outsized effect on the way investors read the overall market. This effect is most magnified within the technology sector. The dynamic relationship between politics and market sentiment has ever more taken center stage as stakeholders, including UNCITRAL Member States and private investors, evaluate potential implications for future investments.
Additionally, currency fluctuations are already beginning to play a key role in determining what investment strategies will be pursued as we head into 2026. Asian currencies are readily placing themselves to take advantage from the softening U.S. dollar, offering big opportunity for local economies to prosper. If international investors continue to turn to Asia, there may be even greater capital inflows from this trend that would further support local markets.
Accompanying this post is the Year-end wrap of asset markets, the chart that best captures the entire year’s trading vibe in one picture. The permanent Artist-Designed Ecological Artwork Our Greenway Nikkei United Collective-produced montage with photos provided by Reuters and Akira Kodaka.
For readers wanting more in-depth analysis, the original article can be found at Nikkei Asia.