Global Markets Surge Following Japanese PM's Election Victory; Nikkei Hits Record High

Kathmandu. Global stock markets rallied after Japanese Prime Minister Sane Taikachi's ruling party secured a two-thirds majority in the parliamentary election, pushing Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index up nearly five percent on Monday to reach a historic level.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX rose 0.6 percent to 24,864.59, while France's CAC 40 increased by 0.2 percent to 8,288.06. The UK's FTSE 100 also climbed 0.3 percent to 10,399.61.

US futures also looked higher for Monday after the American stock market made a strong comeback on Friday. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1 percent, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 0.2 percent.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose nearly two percent, marking its best day since May. The Dow rose 2.5 percent, crossing the psychological level of 50,000 for the first time, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.2 percent.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed up 3.9 percent, and the index had previously set a new intraday record of 57,337.07. The US dollar traded slightly weaker against the Japanese Yen at 156.71 yen.

Analysts stated that the election victory gave Prime Minister Taikachi a strong mandate to advance market-friendly policies. According to the vote count results from Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won 316 out of 465 seats in the lower house. This is the party's biggest success since its establishment in 1955.

Neil Newman, Managing Director of Astris Advisory Japan, noted that the shift from a weak government to a strong majority government makes it easier to advance policy decisions. With the lower house set to reconvene in mid-February, work on the budget to address rising living costs and sluggish wages is expected to be the top priority.

Stephen Ince of SPI Asset Management commented that the market reacted favorably as the election results removed political uncertainty.

Other Asian markets also looked strong. South Korea's Kospi rose 4.1 percent to 5,298.04. Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.8 percent to 27,027.16, and Shanghai Composite rose 1.4 percent to 4,123.09. Taiwan's Taiex increased by two percent, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.9 percent to 8,870.10.

Chip manufacturing companies played a significant role in Wall Street's latest rally. Nvidia rose 7.8 percent, and Broadcom climbed 7.1 percent. However, concerns that spending by large technology companies and AI technology could affect software companies mean the S&P 500 remains under pressure on a weekly basis for a few more weeks, according to analysis.

In other trading, Bitcoin rose one percent, trading below $70,000. While the metal market appeared somewhat calm, gold increased by 1.4 percent to $5,048.90 per ounce, and silver climbed 6.2 percent to $81.64.

Oil prices, however, decreased. US crude oil fell 60 cents to $62.95 per barrel, and Brent crude also dropped 60 cents to $67.45 per barrel. The Euro strengthened against the Dollar, trading at $1.1866.