Japan stocks surge to record, bonds slide with yen on Takaichi's landslide election win

TOKYO, February 9 ------ Japanese stocks jumped to record peaks while bonds slid and the yen sagged to an all-time low against the Swiss franc after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi scored a landslide win in a snap election.

The Nikkei 225 share average rallied 2.6 per cent to an unprecedented 55,681.11 shortly after markets opened. The broader Topix advanced 2.4 per cent to a record 3,789.10. Benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond futures declined ¥0.37 to ¥131.22. The 30-year JGB was the only cash bond that had traded as of 0005 GMT (8:05am Singapore time), with the yield climbing as much as 6.5 basis points to 3.615 per cent. Bond yields rise when prices fall. The yen eased as much as 0.3 per cent to reach 203.30 per franc for the first time ever. Japan's currency declined 0.4 per cent to €186.55 per, putting it close to the record low of 186.86 from last month. It fell 0.5 per cent to as low as 157.95 per US dollar, a two-week trough.

Takaichi's victory paves the way for promised tax relief and big fiscal spending that have spooked markets since she came to power last year, depressing the yen and sending bond yields soaring to all-time highs, while also stoking a record rally in stocks. "This victory will help advance Takaichi's pro-stimulus policies, allowing her to move forward without needing to negotiate with other parties on every issue," said Mahjabeen Zaman, head of FX strategy at ANZ Bank. "We do expect the yen to be weaker going forward," she said. "In terms of JGB yields, we expect them to also move higher, just reflecting higher inflation expectations and a little bit of that fiscal agenda."

Source: channelnewsasia.com