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Asia markets largely rise as dollar climbs against the yen after Abe election win
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Asia markets largely rise as dollar climbs against the yen after Abe election win
Oct 22, 2017 10:44 PM

Asian stocks were mostly higher on Monday as the dollar spiked to more than three-month highs against the yen following a snap election in Japan on Sunday.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition secured a two-thirds "super majority" after winning 312 out of 465 seats available at Sunday's election, Reuters said, citing local media. Abe's solid win at the polls points to a continuation of fiscal and hyper-easy monetary policies under his Abenomics program.

Those developments were cheered by investors, with Japanese equities popping at the open. The Nikkei 225 surged 1.06 percent, with exporters notching gains on the softer Japanese currency: Nissan rose 1.34 percent, Mitsubishi Motor was up 2.12 percent and Sony rose 1.13 percent. The broader Topix was up 0.79 percent.

Ahead of Sunday's election, the Nikkei 225 had closed higher for 14 straight sessions, partially boosted by optimism that Abe's ruling coalition would win.

Following the news, the dollar also spiked to trade at 113.86 yen at 9:50 a.m. HK/SIN. The greenback went as high as 114.09 earlier — its highest levels in more than three months.

While the election result had been largely expected, the strong mandate resulting from Abe's convincing victory "made all the difference for markets," Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG, said in a note.

Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi erased early gains to slip 0.11 percent. Gains in blue-chip tech names were offset by declines seen in manufacturing and retail plays.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.11 percent. The telecommunications services rose 1.59 percent, leading gains on the broader index.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.53 percent in early trade. Mainland markets traded a touch above the flat line: The Shanghai Composite was higher by 0.03 percent and the Shenzhen Composite was up 0.156 percent.

Markets in Thailand and New Zealand are closed today for public holidays.

Stateside, stocks closed higher on Friday after the U.S. Senate passed a budget measure late on Thursday. The move unlocked reconciliation, which enables Republicans to pass a tax bill with a simple 51-vote majority in the Senate.

The Dow Jones industrial average tacked on 0.71 percent, or 165.59 points, to close at a record 23,328.63. Other major indexes touched record highs during the session.

The dollar index stood at 93.809 at 9:49 a.m. HK/SIN, compared to levels around the 93.6 handle seen on Friday.

Ahead, investors are likely to keep an eye on the race for the position of Federal Reserve chair. President Donald Trump indicated in a Fox News interview aired over the weekend that Stanford University economist John Taylor and Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell remained among the candidates he was considering. He also said he would make his decision shortly.

Back in in Asia, China's 19th Party Congress remained in focus as markets awaited signs on the future leadership line-up of the country, which will be officially unveiled later this week.

Also in China, average home prices in September rose 6.3 percent compared to one year ago, according to Reuters. That figure was below the 8.3 percent increase seen in August.

In corporate news, Singapore-listed Noble Group said it would be disposing of its capital stock of Noble Americas Corporation, the company's global oil liquids business, for roughly $582 million. Noble shares were down 2.63 percent in early trade.

In currencies, the euro was in focus following an ongoing political crisis in Spain. The common currency traded at $1.1765 at 9:57 a.m. HK/SIN after falling as low as $1.1750 in the session.

On the energy front, U.S. crude futures were up 0.5 percent at $52.10 a barrel. Brent crude futures were 0.29 percent higher at $57.92.

Here's the economic calendar for Monday (all times HK/SIN):

1:00 p.m.: Singapore September inflation rate

4:00 p.m.: Taiwan September industrial production, retail sales and unemployment

4:30 p.m.: Hong Kong September inflation

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