logo
Asian shares edge up on Japan's post-election jump

Asian shares edge up on Japan's post-election jump

ASIAN stocks posted a modest gain with Japanese markets staging a relief rally after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would carry on as leader even after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the upper house election.
The MSCI regional stock gauge advanced 0.1% after the S&P 500 index closed above 6,300 for the first time. The Nikkei-225 index in Japan jumped as much as 1.1%, before paring gains. The yen depreciated a touch after gaining as much as 1% Monday. Treasuries rose, with yields on the 10-year dipping for a fifth consecutive day to 4.37%.
Stocks have surged from their slump in April as fund managers lean harder into the rally in risk assets with US stocks pushing to fresh highs, defying persistent trade and geopolitical tensions. The high-octane wager is that while President Donald Trump is threatening to disrupt the economic order anew, he will step back from the brink. That rally faces a key test this week as megacaps such as Tesla Inc. and Alphabet Inc. report earnings.
'Earnings season will move into full swing this week, and the guidance will be more important than usual,' said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak. 'This guidance is going to have to create a very large increase in earnings estimates if the market is going to reach some of the targets that exist on Wall Street right now.'
Investors also kept a close eye on tariff headlines Monday. Trump may issue more unilateral tariff letters before Aug. 1, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. More trade deals may also be reached before the deadline, she added.
Meanwhile, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will be the latest foreign leader eager to make a deal before the US-imposed Aug. 1 tariff deadline when he visits Trump in the Oval Office later Tuesday.
Market participants are focused on the performance of Japanese markets as investors weigh policy uncertainty after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's historic loss in Sunday's elections.
With the election out of the way, 'the possibility of a 'sell Japan' trend, due to worries over extreme fiscal spending, has lessened,' supporting stock prices, said Hideyuki Ishiguro, chief strategist at Nomura Asset Management. However, uncertainty around the new political landscape is likely to cap gains, he said.
Japanese government bonds are vulnerable to further selling following the elections, although the immediate reaction Tuesday was damped by a rally in global debt markets. Benchmark 10-year bonds fell only slightly as trading resumed in Tokyo, pushing yields up by 1.5 basis points.
In the US, the second-quarter earnings season is off to a ripping start, with consumer strength powering resilient corporate profits. Yet after hitting a series of all-time highs, the S&P 500 is trading around 22 times expected 12-month profits.
'While stocks may be due for a breather, we believe the bull market remains intact,' said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management. 'We maintain our June 2026 S&P 500 price target of 6,500, and recommend using volatility as an opportunity to phase into markets.'
The S&P 500 hasn't posted a 1% up or down day since late June, and Mark Hackett at Nationwide notes that volatility gauges also remain 'suspiciously quiet.'
'This calm is unusual and may reflect both investor fatigue and institutional hesitation to fight the current trend,' he said. 'We're in a window where calm can quickly turn to complacency. While a break in either direction is possible, current positioning suggests we'd bet on a rally before a drop.' –BLOOMBERG
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump says he wants Musk's companies to thrive
Trump says he wants Musk's companies to thrive

The Sun

time13 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Trump says he wants Musk's companies to thrive

TORONTO: President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would not destroy Elon Musk's companies by taking away federal subsidies and that he wants the billionaire tech entrepreneur's businesses to thrive. The remarks follow a public clash with his former close ally over his tax bill. In July, the space and automotive billionaire announced the formation of a new political party, saying Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax bill would bankrupt America. 'Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon's companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the US government. This is not so!' Trump said in a social media post. 'I want Elon, and all businesses within our country, to THRIVE.' In a post on X, Musk said the 'subsidies' Trump was talking about simply do not exist. SpaceX won the Nasa contracts by doing a better job for less money, he added. 'Moving those contracts to other aerospace companies would leave astronauts stranded and taxpayers on the hook for twice as much!' The president's social media post came on the heels of Musk's warning to Tesla investors on Wednesday that US government cuts in support for electric vehicle makers could lead to a 'few rough quarters' for the company. Though Musk has often said government subsidies should be eliminated, Tesla has historically benefited from billions of dollars in tax credits and other policy benefits because of its business in clean transportation and renewable energy. Sweeping tax and budget legislation approved by Congress, and signed by Trump, will halt US$7,500 (RM31,610) tax credits for buying or leasing new electric vehicles on Sept 30, as well as a US$4,000 used EV credit, that have helped spur their sales in recent years. Before the relationship soured, Musk had spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump win November's presidential election and led the Department of Government Efficiency's chaotic effort to slash the budget and cut the federal workforce. The Tesla CEO left the administration in late May to refocus on his tech empire. Trump and Musk fell out shortly afterward when Musk openly denounced the Republican president's tax-cut and spending bill, leading to threats by Trump to cancel billions of dollars worth of federal government contracts with Musk's companies. A week after the June spat, Reuters reported the White House had directed the Defense Department and Nasa to gather details on billions of dollars in SpaceX contracts to ready possible retaliation against the businessman and his companies. Musk's SpaceX had been considered a frontrunner to build out Trump's US$175 billion Golden Dome missile defence shield and remains a natural choice for key elements of the project. But sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this week that the administration is expanding its search for partners to build Golden Dome as tension with Musk threatens SpaceX's dominance in the program.

Japan's Sanseito party gains traction with anti-foreigner YouTube campaign
Japan's Sanseito party gains traction with anti-foreigner YouTube campaign

The Sun

time43 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Japan's Sanseito party gains traction with anti-foreigner YouTube campaign

TOKYO: Yuta Kato is increasingly annoyed by foreigners ignorant of Japan's social etiquette, whether that involves blocking the streets near his work in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district or distracting commuters by playing loud videos on their phones. The 38-year-old hairdresser is among a growing number of Japanese voters drawn to the right-wing Sanseito party, whose warnings about foreigners helped it establish a strong foothold in an upper house election on Sunday. 'It is not about discrimination, it's just like, why don't they notice?' said Kato, who, like many Sanseito supporters, obtains his information from YouTube and other social media sites, a space the party has utilised to amplify its 'Japanese First' message. Japan's foreign-born residents account for just 3% of the total population, a fraction of the corresponding proportion in the United States and Europe, but record numbers of tourists in recent years have made foreigners more visible in major cities. While Sanseito largely avoids identifying specific immigrant groups, Romeo Marcantuoni, a Tokyo-based academic who has studied the party, said it taps into latent concerns ranging from badly-behaved tourists to conspiracy theories about sneaking Chinese influence. Kato said he believes the Chinese, the biggest cohort of foreign residents in Japan and among the largest visitor groups, are quietly taking over the country. Chinese are also often the focal point for anti-immigrant rhetoric propagated online. Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya and other party lawmakers and candidates have raised concerns about Chinese buying up land and resources in Japan. One of the party's policies listed on its website is to 'stop the silent invasion of Japan by foreign forces'. The party did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Kamiya has previously denied criticism that it is xenophobic. Sanseito is most popular among 18 to 39-year-olds, with men favouring the party more than women, according to a poll conducted by public broadcaster NHK, a trend increasingly seen among support for right-wing parties in democracies worldwide. In contrast, support for Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which lost its majority in Sunday's election, is deepest among those aged over 70 with no clear gender divide, the NHK poll showed. Sanseito's presence online has given them visibility among younger voters that the LDP has struggled to reach, Kato said. The party's official YouTube channel has three times as many followers as the LDP's, with engagement in their content far higher than other parties, a study by Asahi newspaper found. 'They are the party of YouTube,' said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies who has authored a book on right-wing politics in Japan. YouTube did not respond to emails seeking comment on Sanseito's use of the platform. On its community guidelines page, YouTube says it closely monitors content and removes videos it deems to promote 'harmful or dangerous behavior'. BROADER APPEAL Birthed during the Covid-19 pandemic when they spread conspiracy theories about vaccinations, Sanseito has broadened its appeal with its tough immigration policies and pledges to help households struggling with rising prices. It also wants to scrap Japan's pacifist constitution and restore the Emperor's authority, fringe ideas promoted by other right-wing groups that regularly drive around Japan's cities in black trucks blaring imperial-era military songs. While that megaphone politics has long been largely ignored by the Japanese, Sanseito has set its sights on emulating the successes of other far-right groups in Europe, such as Germany's AfD and Britain's Reform UK. At a rally held outside Tokyo's bustling Shimbashi train station on Monday, crowds clapped and cheered some of Sanseito's newly elected lawmakers. 'They're going to get things done,' said Eriko Harada, 47, a housewife wearing a kimono and a headband emblazoned with the words 'Samurai Spirit', who said she voted for the first time this year. Sanseito's rise has sparked a backlash by those who fear the party is normalising xenophobia. Monday's rally attracted dozens of protesters who tried to drown out the speakers. 'It is people falling for lies and displacing their frustrations - economic hardship, political alienation - onto others,' said Miroko Kato, a 42-year-old haiku poet among the protestors. 'We're here to say: we're watching you!' - Reuters

UUM inks MoU with 6 Japanese institutions
UUM inks MoU with 6 Japanese institutions

New Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • New Straits Times

UUM inks MoU with 6 Japanese institutions

SINTOK: Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with six Japanese institutions as part of its participation in the Osaka Expo 2025 held in conjunction with Japan's Higher Education Week. The MoUs were inked with Kansai University of International Studies, Kyoto Sangyo University, University of Tsukuba, Okayama University, Shibaura Institute of Technology, and the Japan Da'wah Centre. UUM vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Foad Sakdan said the agreements reflected a strong commitment from the Japanese institutions to explore various academic and research collaborations with UUM. "The UUM delegation also visited Hiroshima University and Hiroshima City University to explore further strategic partnerships with Japanese universities. "These strategic partnerships will cover student and staff mobility programmes, joint research, academic publications, as well as collaboration in applying for research grants," he said in a statement today. Kansai University of International Studies' assistant president (International Affairs) Dr Yasuo Kawawaki said a delegation from the university would be making an official visit to UUM on Aug 20 for the Asean Cooperative Programme International Field Study 2025, as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in education and research. Meanwhile, Japan Da'wah Centre president Zulkarnain Hasan Basri said the centre aims to collaborate with UUM to develop an application that connects mosque functions with Muslim communities in Japan, in line with efforts to enhance the role of mosques in local community development. Today, UUM researchers participated in the Pocket Talk @ OSAKA Expo 2025 forum on the theme of 'Halal and Food Security', and held business-matching sessions with 15 Japanese organisations comprising universities and private firms.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store