The Nikkei index rose nearly 2% on Tuesday, supported by defense-related stocks, after former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba was confirmed by Parliament as Japan’s new prime minister.
The Nikkei advanced by 1.93%, closing at 38,651.97 points, after losing almost 5% in the previous session.
Heavy machinery makers posted the biggest percentage gains on the Nikkei, with Kawasaki Heavy Industries rising 8.3%, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI rose 7.84% and 7.35%, respectively.
Ishiba was elected Prime Minister of Japan by Parliament and later presented his cabinet.
Takeshi Iwaya, Ishiba’s close ally and former defense minister, will take over as foreign minister, while General Nakatani will return to the defense ministry.
“The market expected defense-related stocks to benefit after seeing reports on key members of the new government,” said Tomochika Kitaoka, chief equity strategist at Nomura Securities.
Export companies also increased due to the weakening yen. Toyota Motor rose 2.1% and Honda Motor gained 2.29%. A weak yen helps exporters’ stocks by raising the value of foreign profits in yen terms when companies repatriate them to Japan.
In China the markets are closed for the whole week due to the national holiday. There were no negotiations in Hong Kong and Seoul either.
. In TOKYO the Nikkei index advanced by 1.93%, to 38,651 points.
. IN HONG KONG the market was closed for a public holiday.
. In SHANGHAI and SHENZHEN the markets were closed on holidays.
. In SEOUL the market was closed for holidays.
. In TAIWAN the TAIEX index recorded an increase of 0.75%, to 22,390 points.
. IN SINGAPORE the STRAITS TIMES index fell by 0.12% to 3,580 points.
. In SYDNEY the S&P/ASX 200 index fell by 0.74% to 8,208 points.
Source: Terra
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