Owngarden | Moment | Getty Images
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 0.9% to a record high, notching a second straight day of gains after the country’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation Sunday. The Topix rose 0.52%.
The technology sector led gains on the index, data from LSEG showed. Shares of Advantest led gains in the region, popping 7.62%. Tokyo Electron rose 3.64%, while Renesas Electronics was 2.59% higher.
“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 0.1% to 147.38 against the greenback.
Broader Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher Tuesday, tracking Wall Street gains boosted by tech stocks.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.35%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.19%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.29%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.25%, while mainland CSI 300 slipped 0.41%.
Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index was flat 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.
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.