The precious metal hit $3,501.59 an ounce, soaring past its previous record of $3,500.10 reached in April

Gold jumped to a new record on Tuesday as investors sought out safe havens, while Nikkei and the Hang Seng rose ahead of Wall Street’s return after the Labor Day holiday.

The precious metal hit $3,501.59 an ounce during early trading in Asia, soaring past its previous record of $3,500.10 reached in April.

The run in gold prices comes as investors weigh up a weakened US dollar and the prospect of rate cuts by the country’s central bank.

On Monday, Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba surged nearly 20 per cent on strong results and a surge in AI revenue, and its shares gained another half per cent on Tuesday.

This boosted the Hang Seng by 2.2 per cent on Monday and the index was 0.1 per cent higher on Tuesday while Shanghai also gained.

Chinese equities won support also from the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – a key measure of industrial output – gaining on Monday.

While US firms face mounting questions around AI monetization and stretched valuations, Chinese companies are showing tangible earnings lift from AI and cloud, Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets told AFP.

The Nikkei shed 1.2 per cent on Monday as chip shares came under pressure but the index recovered some ground on Tuesday.

Seoul gained with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics recovering from losses on the back of concerns about their chip plants in China.

Meanwhile, Wall Street dropped from record highs on Friday as a key US inflation reading accelerated, giving the central bank less room to manoeuvre at the same time concerns mount over its independence.