Japan 30-year government bond yield rose 2.5 bps to 4.10%.

HKEX said its US-dollar gold futures recorded 6,676 contracts in the daytime session, a record above the prior high of 3,039 contracts on 7 Nov 2022. Active-month bid-ask spreads tightened to 1–2 ticks; the August contract traded as tight as $0.01 (one tick), the December contract at two ticks. HKEX said product-optimization measures drew banks, securities firms, high-frequency traders, trading houses, gold producers and gold-consuming companies. The exchange called the move part of efforts to expand its gold product suite and deepen a multi-asset ecosystem to support Hong Kong’s development as an international gold trading and storage center.

Microsoft will cut roughly 4,800 roles, about 2.1% of its global workforce, primarily in sales and the Xbox gaming division. The company had more than 220,000 employees before the reduction. Microsoft is trimming costs while increasing AI infrastructure spending and faces investor concern that AI could disrupt traditional software revenue. Last year the firm cut about 6,000 jobs in May and a further 9,000 in July (around 4% of staff). Earlier this year Microsoft offered a voluntary retirement buyout in the U.S. to employees at or below grade 67 with long service; of roughly 9,000 eligible staff, about one-third accepted, helping keep this year's layoff rate below last year's level.