The Nikkei 225 set the pace, closing up 1.88% at 68,483 and stretching its weekly gain to 4.04%. Precious metals were the next-strongest story, with gold and silver each adding 0.83% while crypto’s smaller names retreated.

Indices

Japan’s run stands out against a mixed rest of the board: the Nikkei is up 59.01% over the year. US benchmarks were steadier β€” the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5% to 29,702 and the S&P 500 added 0.14% to 7,744.80, while the Dow slipped 0.06%.

Europe was flat to soft. The DAX 40 eased 0.14% and the CAC 40 fell 0.25%, though both hold monthly gains above 4%. The Hang Seng was the day’s laggard, down 0.85% to 25,341. The FTSE 100 edged up 0.19%.

Metals and energy

Gold closed at 4,407.58, now up 8.74% on the month and 31.07% on the year. Silver at 65.29 carries the heavier longer-run move, up 11.08% over the month and 69.49% over twelve months. Platinum added 0.41% to 1,755.68.

Crude gave back some of its recent strength. USOil fell 0.73% to 81.73 and UKOil dropped 0.59% to 86.96, but both retain weekly gains near 6%.

Currencies

The dollar was firmest against the Swedish krona, with USDSEK up 0.55% to 9.5706. USDCHF added 0.26% and USDJPY ticked up 0.09% to 159.41. The rand outperformed, as USDZAR fell 0.61% to 16.08, extending a weekly slide of 1.58%.

EURUSD eased 0.20% to 1.1520 and GBPUSD slipped 0.13% to 1.3491. The Antipodeans lagged, with NZDUSD down 0.39% and AUDUSD off 0.05%.

Crypto

The day’s sharpest declines sat in the smaller tokens. UNI fell 4.73% and Cardano dropped 3.22% to 0.1806, deepening a weekly loss near 10%. Dogecoin shed 3.21% to 0.0693.

The majors held up better. Bitcoin dipped 0.26% to 63,364 and Ethereum eased 0.32% to 1,874.51, while XRP fell 1.74% to 1.0035. Solana lost 1.01% but remains 3.91% higher on the week.

Into the close, the altcoins remain the clear weak spot against a firmer tape in Japanese equities and precious metals.