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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday after Wall Street gained on a tech rally.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 reversed course to lose 0.42%, closing at 43,459.29 after hitting a record high earlier in the day, following Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s announcement of his resignation Sunday.
The Topix retreated 0.51% to 3,122.12.
“Investors are betting that the next leader from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) could unleash a new wave of fiscal stimulus to bolster the economy,” XTB Investing’s senior market analyst Hani Abuagla wrote in a note.
While near-term volatility is expected to pick up amid political uncertainties, the upcoming change ultimately provides for a “greater longer-term policy and political stability, and a more conducive pro-growth environment for the equities market,” Julius Baer’s equity research analyst in Asia, Louis Chua, said. The bank expects more upside for the Nikkei 225, forecasting that it will hit 46,000 in 12 months.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 147.22 against the greenback.
South Korea’s Kospi added 1.26% to end the trading day at 3,260.05, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.76% to close at 824.82.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.52% to 8,803.5.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index pared earlier gains to rise 1.19% after hitting its highest level since late 2021. The mainland CSI 300 slipped 0.7% to 4,436.26.
Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index lost 1.82% after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto unexpectedly dismissed Sri Mulyani Indrawati as finance minister late Monday. She was replaced by Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who headed the Deposit Insurance Corporation since 2020 and was sworn in late Monday. The Indonesian rupiah weakened 1.17% to 16,490 against the dollar.
India’s Nifty 50 added 0.29%, while the Sensex index rose 0.2%.
Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed higher. The Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high as investors geared up for a data-heavy week that includes two closely watched readings on inflation.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq finished up 0.45% at 21,798.70, a record high after hitting a new all-time intraday high in the session. The S&P 500, meanwhile, settled up 0.21% at 6,495.15, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114.09 points, or 0.25%, to close at 45,514.95.
The move higher was led by a rise in shares of chipmaker Broadcom, which gained 3%, and artificial intelligence darling Nvidia, whose almost 1% advance reversed some of its steep losses from the past month. Amazon and Microsoft were also higher.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
