Asia stocks climb as Nikkei hits record ahead of earnings

Asian shares rose with Japan's Nikkei jumping 3.4% to a record, while gold and oil gained as questions over U.S. Federal Reserve independence and unrest in Iran influenced markets.

Asian equity markets rose on Tuesday, led by a 3.4% jump in Japan's Nikkei to record highs after the holiday. The advance was linked to investor optimism around artificial intelligence and talk of fiscal stimulus. At the same time, uncertainty about the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence supported gold and weighed on the dollar. Oil prices also rose as unrest in Iran raised concerns about supply. Market developments: - Japan's Nikkei rose 3.4% to record highs, helped by a weak yen and talk of fiscal stimulus. - South Korea and Taiwan indices hit all-time peaks, and China's CSI300 reached a four-year high. - MSCI's Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan rose 0.8% to a fresh record peak. - Gold broke above $4,600 an ounce before settling near $4,582 amid reports of a U.S. Justice Department probe involving Fed Chair Jerome Powell. - Brent crude rose to $64.19 a barrel and U.S. crude to $59.81 as unrest in Iran raised supply concerns, and the article reports U.S. President Donald Trump warned of a 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran. - S&P 500 futures eased 0.2% and Nasdaq futures 0.3% ahead of U.S. consumer price data, and earnings season begins with major U.S. banks — the article mentions JPMorgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup and Bank of America. Summary: Regional equity benchmarks and commodity prices rose on the reported combination of AI-driven optimism, currency moves and geopolitical strain. Markets are positioned ahead of U.S. consumer price data and the start of U.S. bank earnings, while questions about the Fed's independence remain unresolved.