Tokyo and Hong Kong shares opened higher Monday following the election of Joe Biden as the next United States president, after a nail-biting, close contest resulted in the outcome that the market had expected.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 1.13 percent or 274.31 points to 24,599.54 in early trade while the broader Topix index added 0.90 percent or 14.95 points at 1,673.44.
The Tokyo market’s solid open came after the US market ended the best week since April although Friday’s Wall Street session was lukewarm as vote counting was still ongoing.
Hong Kong stocks also surge 1.73 percent at open on Monday.
Global markets were expected to rise on hopes for a fresh round of stimulus under the Biden presidency, SBI Securities said.
Futures contracts for the major Wall Street indices already pointed to a strong open of US shares later in the day, for the first session since Biden gave a victory address.
Tokyo investors will be eyeing the fall of the dollar weighing on Japanese exporters as well as corporate earnings reports, analysts said.
Internet investor SoftBank Group is scheduled to release its half-year earnings after the market closes.
The Tokyo market may take a temporary breather soon though after it chalked a four-day winning streak to finish last week at the highest since 1991, Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
Still, technical charts point to the Tokyo market’s momentum continuing through the rest of the year, the brokerage added.
“We expect the Tokyo market to test the upside this week,” it said.
Some investors are mindful of possible overheating but the market continues to see strong investor appetite to buy shares, Okasan said.
“Now that the market has gone through the US presidential election and the fog of uncertainty is disappearing, the Nikkei is expected to chase the upside,” it added.
Among major shares, SoftBank Group jumped 3.47 percent to 6,955 yen.
Sony added 0.45 percent to 9,186 yen. Nintendo rose 1.07 percent to 58,430 yen.
Toyota surged 2.05 percent to 7,163 yen.
But Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group lost 0.40 percent to 425.1 yen.
Japan Airlines plunged 12.53 percent to 1,612 yen after it announced a public offering to shore up its capital.
Read More: Tokyo, Hong Kong stocks open over 1% up after Biden win – Business