Weaker yen have lifted Japanese stocks on Monday, led by gains in auto and electronics. Benchmark Index Nikkei 225 closed +1.78% higher after back-to-back drops last Thursday and Friday. USD/JPY was at 109.87, up from 109.69 as of Friday’s Tokyo stock-market close.
Overall, it was a ?green? trading day in Japan with all 33 TOPIX Sector Indices closing higher except for mining. A weaker yen, which usually promotes exports, boosted auto-parts maker Denso by +6.61% and car makers Toyota and Nissan by +3.44% and +3.41% respectively.
Another market catalyst was the defeat of a candidate backed by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in the Yokohama mayoral election. This is another blow to the PM?s political fate with major polls showing his popularity plunge to new lows. Many firms consider Suga?s reign is bad for economy and public opinion were critical of his pandemic management.
The higher close on Monday maybe just a signal that investors were happy with the recent election results in Japan?s second most populous city.
In Europe, Xtrackers MSCI Japan UCITS ETF, with $2,44 billion in assets under management (AuM) opened higher than last Friday?s close by 0.98%. The fund invests in Large and Mid-Cap Japanese Equities. In America, the largest Japan equities ETF in the world with $11.56 billion in assets iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) is also set to open higher on Wall Street.
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