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LDP loses majority in Japan; yen hits 153/dollar
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Oil slides on restrained Israel strike, Europe airlines up
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'Magnificent 7' earnings, US jobs data in focus
(Updates throughout; refreshes prices at 0855 GMT)
By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Monday,
ahead of a week stacked with earnings from Wall Street's
"Magnificent 7", while the yen sank after an election in Japan
thrust the country into political turmoil, and oil slid as
tensions in the Middle East ebbed.
The dollar, which is heading towards a 3.6% monthly rise
against a basket of major currencies in October, hit a
three-month peak against the yen at 153.885, after
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost its
parliamentary majority.
Oil prices fell by as much as 5.34% after
Israel's response
to an Oct. 1 Iranian missile attack focused, so far, on
missile factories and other sites near Tehran, rather than on
refineries or nuclear targets.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to an
upbeat start on Wall Street later, up 0.5-0.7%, while Europe's
STOXX 600 rose 0.4%, as airline stocks drew strength
from lower fuel prices.
With the U.S. presidential election just over a week
away and a key read of employment on Friday, investors were wary
of tugging stocks or bonds too far in one direction or the
other.
"There'll be plenty to test the market nerves with this
week's bumper set of data releases, including U.S. payrolls on
Friday, and earnings reports, with five of the Magnificent 7
reporting. Meanwhile, the tight U.S. election campaign will
enter its final stretch," Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid
said.
The "Magnificent Seven" are the largest U.S. companies
by market value. The five set to report earnings this week are
Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft ( MSFT ), Facebook
owner Meta, Apple ( AAPL ) and Amazon ( AMZN ).
"One market fear that has eased over the weekend is
escalation risks in the Middle East. This comes as overnight
into Saturday Israel carried out retaliatory strikes against
Iran, but with these targeting military facilities and avoiding
oil or nuclear installations."
In Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei closed up 1.8%, after
initially dipping following the weakest election result since
2009 for the LDP, which has governed the country for most of the
post-war era.
The party, with junior coalition partner Komeito, won
215 lower-house seats in Sunday's election, public broadcaster
NHK reported, well short of the 233 needed for a majority.
The yen weakened sharply, leaving the dollar up as much as
1% earlier in the day, since investors figured any government
that emerges is likely to make a dovish shift in economic
policy.
"The markets are likely to think this means more trouble for
the yen with 155 the first target and (the finance ministry's)
line in the sand at 160," said Bob Savage, head of markets
strategy and insights at BNY in a note.
Nomura analyst Yusuke Miyairi also expects the Bank of
Japan, which reviews policy on Thursday, will be more dovish and
that will hurt the yen.
RISING DOLLAR
Broader currency markets were steady, leaving the dollar on
course for its largest monthly rise in 2-1/2 years as signs of
strength in the U.S. economy and the prospect of a Donald Trump
presidency have driven up U.S. yields.
While markets have started pricing in a second Trump
administration in recent weeks, Vice President Kamala Harris is
leading Trump nationally by a marginal 46% to 43%, a recent
Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields are up nearly
45 bps this month, partly down to the growing chances of a Trump
win, but also as U.S. data has shown the economy remains
resilient and, as such, interest rates could fall a lot more
slowly than many thought just a few weeks ago.
Friday's monthly employment report could reinforce that
view.
The 10-year Treasury note was last yielding
4.8%, up 4.8 bps on the day.
In Europe, euro zone government bond yields edged up in
line with Treasuries. French 10-year bonds were mostly steady at
3.05%, shrugging off a decision by ratings agency Moody's on
Friday to lower its outlook on French sovereign debt.
Gold, which hit record highs last week, hovered just
shy of those levels at $2,733 an ounce.