After months of increasing rice prices, Japanese consumers may be finally getting some relief.

Data from Japan's agriculture ministry revealed that the average price of a five-kg bag of rice had fallen to 3,920 yen ($27.03) for the week ending June 15, which marked the first time that rice had fallen below the 4,000-yen mark since the week that ended on March 2.

This was also the first time that rice prices came within the target set by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

In May, Ishiba promised to lower prices, reportedly saying he believed that "rice prices should be in the 3,000-yen range, since staying in the 4,000-yen range can't be right."  Ishiba also reportedly told opposition lawmakers that he would take personal responsibility for the matter.

Rice has been a hot-button topic in Japan, with surging prices and shortages leading to empty shelves in supermarkets across the country.

Read the full story here.

—Lim Hui Jie

Gold prices are set to decline over 20% in late 2025 and 2026 on the back of higher growth prospects in the U.S., said Citi.

"We see investment demand for gold abating in late 2025 and 2026, as ultimately, we see President Trump's popularity and US growth 'put' kicking in," Citi analysts wrote in a note.

In addition, over the next six to nine months, the bank sees "a lot of scope for the Fed to cut from restrictive policy to neutral," which bolsters growth sentiment in the U.S. and globally.

Gold prices have been scaling new highs this year, with spot gold prices currently trading at $3,340.29 per ounce.

—Lee Ying Shan

Major South Korean defense stocks briefly climbed early Thursday on reports that the country agreed to establish a consultative body on defense industry cooperation with NATO, before falling in volatile trading.

The fleeting gains broke ranks with the country's Kospi index, which has declined over 1%.

Hanwha Aerospace gained as much as 3.38%, while Hyundai Rotem rose 5.31%. Korea Aerospace Industries was up as high as 2.78%.

South Korean arms have been popular in recent years as defense spending surged, sending shares of the country's defense firms to record highs.

— Lim Hui Jie

Semiconductor-related stocks in Asia traded higher after Nvidia shares rose more than 4% stateside and closed at a record for the first time since January.

Semiconductor testing equipment supplier Advantest's shares rose 3.19% as of 8.15 a.m. Singapore time, while technology conglomerate SoftBank — which owns a stake in chip designer Arm — rose 3.42%. Tokyo Electron was also up 0.81%.

Nvidia is now worth $3.77 trillion, making it the largest company in the world by market cap, slightly beating out Microsoft, one of its main customers. Apple comes third at about $3 trillion.

—Lee Ying Shan, Kif Leswing

The S&P 500 closed little changed on Wednesday, but remains within arms reach of its record high.

The broad market index was flat to finish the session at 6,092.16, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.31% to 19,973.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 106.59 points, or 0.25%, to close at 42,982.43.

— Brian Evans

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in his second day of Capitol Hill testimony stuck to his cautious approach to tariffs and inflation, saying there will be room for rate cuts if the impact is temporary.

"It's a risk. We feel like, as the people who are supposed to keep stable prices for the benefit of the American people, we can manage that risk too," the central bank leader said in an appearance before the Senate banking committee. "That's all we're doing. We're not deciding what to do yet."

As he did during his testimony Tuesday before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell would not put a timetable on when he thinks further interest rate cuts will be possible, despite heavy pressure President Donald Trump has exerted to get the Fed to cut rates.

Earlier in the day, Trump called Powell "terrible" in a talk with reporters, and said he has three or four candidates in mind as a replacement, according to multiple media reports.

Despite the political pressure, most of the questions Powell faced during the two-day mandated hearing were cordial. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) was one of the few to take an overtly hostile one.

"You're costing this government $400 billion a year by refusing to lower interest rates," Moreno said. "Nobody in this chamber has that kind of power to have a $400 billion impact on our economy. I just think you should consider whether you're really looking through a political lends because you don't like tariffs."

Echoing Trump's criticism, Moreno said, "We got elected by millions of voters, you got elected by one person. He doesn't want you in that job."

—Jeff Cox