Key TakeawaysGold extended its fifth consecutive weekly gain, hovering just below record highs, driven by the Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point rate cut and expectations of further monetary easing.Japanese equities surged, with the Nikkei Index climbing 1% to 45,499.10 points, buoyed by the Bank of Japan's slow sell-down of ETFs which is seen as removing a market overhang.Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) shares rose 3% after successfully passing NVIDIA's (NVDA) qualification test for its 12-layer HBM3E produc ...