Abe election win helps Nikkei set record 15th straight rise

Shutterstock photo

* Yen weakens on Abe's ruling bloc victory in Sunday's election

* Fresh records on Wall Street also underpin sentiment

By Lisa Twaronite

The Nikkei .N225 ended up 1.1 percent at 21,696.65.

The index gained 1.4 percent last week, making its sixth straight weekly gain and its longest weekly winning streak in a year, leaving investors to ponder how long it might continue.

"While upward momentum is apparently strong, it would not be unusual for short-term profit-taking to emerge," said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.

Abe's coalition kept its two-thirds "super majority" in the lower house, reassuring investors that his "Abenomics" economic reforms would continue, including the Bank of Japan's easy monetary policy, which has resulted in a weaker yen, benefiting exporters. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MX00Q

"It would be particularly positive if this very strong political position that Abe has re-established allows him to push for further radical policy - that would be a bonus," said Stefan Worrall, director of Japan equity sales at Credit Suisse in Tokyo.

The market's attention will now shift from to company earnings, he said, which could underscore Japan's recovery and pave the way for more gains as long as external factors are favourable.

U.S. stocks hit record closing highs on Friday and the S&P 500 .SPX posted its sixth week of gains after the U.S. Senate passed a budget resolution, lifting hopes that President Donald Trump's tax-cut plan may move forward. .N

Fuelled by Abe's victory and hopes of Trump's tax reform, the dollar rose to three-month highs above the 114-yen level, though it later fell back below it. FRX/

The weaker yen gave many exporter shares a lift, with Tokyo Electron8035.T rising 2.5 percent and Murata Manufacturing6981.T adding 1.1 percent.

The insurance sector .IINSU.T gained 1.4 percent, as T&D Holdings8795.T rose 1.5 percent.

Banks also gained, with the banking subindex .IBNKS.T up 1.1 percent. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group8306.T rose 1.6 percent.

Toshiba6502.T shares skidded 1.2 percent after the company said it expects to post a net loss of 110 billon yen for the fiscal year through March, compared with its previous forecast for a net profit of 230 billion yen. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nXB0S8BRT3

Shares of Kobe Steel Ltd5406.T edged down 0.1 percent.

On Friday, the embattled steelmaker said it had lost some customers because of widespread data falsification that had extended to its mainstream steel sheet business. It also admitted it had violated statutory standards set by the industry ministry. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MV3LT

The broader Topix .TOPX marked 10-year peaks and ended 0.8 percent higher at 1,745.25, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 .JPXNK400 gained 0.9 percent to 15,471.27.

(Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Eric Meijer) ((lisa.twaronite@thomsonreuters.com;)(+81 3 6441 1870; Reuters Messaging: lisa.twaronite.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: JAPAN STOCKS/CLOSE

Let's block ads!(Why?)

Read Again Abe election win helps Nikkei set record 15th straight rise : http://ift.tt/2zI8cvT

Let's block ads! (Why?)