Japan shares rise after election, rest of region declines

TOKYO: Asian shares were mostly lower on Monday, although Japan’s benchmark rallied, welcoming a landslide parliamentary election victory by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Concerns about global inflation and interruptions to economic activity brought on by the coronavirus pandemic are adversely affecting investor sentiment, reports AP.

The tide may be shifting as more and more market players focus on the economic outlook, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

“A recession is not the market’s base outlook, but until proven otherwise, investors will debate the depth of the growth hit, not the likelihood of recession; thus, good economic data is good news for stocks,” he said.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei jumped 1.1 per cent in morning trading to 26,803.30.

Japan’s governing party and its coalition partner scored a major victory in balloting Sunday, which came two days after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe was shot by a man emerging from the crowd listening to his campaign speech, took out a homemade gun and fired.

The attack shocked a nation that rarely sees gun violence. The Liberal Democratic Party was bound for victory even before the assassination, but some analysts said the shock of Abe’s death was likely to strengthen that trend.

With its partner Komeito party, the ruling coalition raised its combined share in the 248-seat upper house to 146. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida almost certainly stands to rule without interruption until a scheduled election in 2025, ensuring that the pro-US defense and diplomatic policies of the late Abe and the Liberal Democrats will continue unchanged.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6 per cent to 6,638.20. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3 per cent to 2,342.82.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 2.7 per cent to 21,144.53, while the Shanghai Composite fell 1.5 percent to 3,307.23. Technology shares fell after market regulators in China fined companies for not reporting past transactions as required.

Wall Street had a sputtering finish last week, as global markets turned their attention to Chinese economic indicators and moves by central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, to contain stubbornly growing inflation.