TOKYO (AP) – Global stocks rose on Monday as the yen weakened amid political uncertainty after Japan’s ruling party lost a majority in the lower house of parliament in weekend elections.
France’s CAC40 rose 0.7% to 7,552.94 in early trade, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.5% to 19,549.65. Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose nearly 0.2% to 8,260.84. US stocks turned higher, with Dow futures up 0.4% to 42,503.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.5% to 5,876.50.
In currency trading, the dollar rose from 152.24 yen to 153.33 yen. Last month, it was trading in the 140 yen range. The euro fell from $1.0803 to $1.0817.
The weaker yen is a boon for Japan’s export giants like Toyota Motor Corp., whose shares rose 4.1% in Tokyo trading. Nintendo rose 2.0%, and Sony rose nearly 2.0%.
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party remains the largest party, but several members lost re-election in Sunday’s vote following an unreported campaign finance scandal.
Overall, the ruling coalition with junior partner Komeito won 215 seats, according to Japanese media, a significant decrease from the previous majority of 279 seats.
Amid political uncertainty, the Bank of Japan is unlikely to take immediate action on interest rates. The central bank will hold a monetary policy meeting later this week.
Tokyo stocks rose. Analysts say the ruling party’s defeat was highly anticipated and priced into the market.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average rose 1.8% to end at 38,605.53. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 8,221.50. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.1% to 2,612.43. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose less than 0.1% to 20,599.36 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7% to 3,322.20.
Corporate earnings reports have been mostly solid and remain a key focus for investors. More than one-third of S&P 500 index companies have reported their latest quarterly results. Most of the results exceeded analysts’ expectations. Companies around the world are expected to report their financial results in the coming weeks.
The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate to a 20-year high in an effort to bring inflation back to 2% without sending the economy into recession.
A major report on U.S. consumer spending, known as the PCE, will be released later this week. Analysts expect it to show that inflation has fallen to 2%. The central bank began cutting interest rates in September, and economists expect another cut at its November meeting.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude oil fell $3.46 to $68.32 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard crude, fell $3.48 to $72.57 per barrel.
Analysts said one reason for the drop in oil prices was that Israel’s recent attacks on Iran were not as extreme and did not target oil facilities as some observers had expected. are.
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AP Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed to this report.
Yuri Kageyama appears on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama
