SYDNEY, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Asian shares advanced on Wednesday, capping a year of brisk artificial intelligence-driven gains, while commodities such as gold and silver extended their bullish run to new all-time highs as 2025 draws to a close.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 notched a closing record ‌as the elusive Santa Claus rally finally set in. U.S. data showing the economy expanded at a much faster-than-expected ​clip in the third quarter boosted risk sentiment but weighed on bonds.

Gold and silver ‍were again the big movers in early Asian trade. Spot gold ⁠prices climbed 0.8% to ⁠another all-time high of $4,524 per ounce, bringing the gain for this year to 72%. Silver jumped 1.2% to ‌a record $72.27 per ounce, and was set for ​an annual rise of almost 150%, its best year ever.

Stocks in the region were slightly higher, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside ⁠Japan up 0.3%. The index is up ‍26% for ​the year, its best performance since 2017.

EURO STOXX 50 futures, Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were little changed amid thin liquidity.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.4% and was ‍up 26% this year. South Korea outperformed the rest of Asia for the year with a meteoric surge of 72%.

"As equity markets enter the fourth year of a bull market, our underlying market call remains constructive," said Scott Chronert, a U.S. equity strategist at Citi, who is tipping another year of upsides for equities on earnings growth ​and high ‍valuations.

"Yet, high performance dispersion within themes, sectors, and market cap is expected."

In the foreign exchange market, the yen gained for a third straight session amid ​intervention risk from Japanese authorities. The dollarlost 0.3% to 155.78 yen, retreating from the 158 level zone that drew intervention in the past.

The euro was largely steady at $1.18, having rallied 14% this year. Against its major peers, the dollar was down about 10% this year.

Treasuries rallied this year on the resumption of Fed rate cuts. Two-year Treasury yields were steady at 3.532%, having fallen by ​72 basis points this year, while the 10-year yield traded at 4.1589%, down 42 bps for the year.

Oil prices held steady in early trade but were set for a third straight year of losses. Brent crude futures ‍were flat at $62.41 a barrel, but were down 16% for the year.

(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)