TOKYO – Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index rallied 1.60% today, after US shares surged despite rioters storming the US Capitol in an effort to overturn the result of the presidential election.
The Nikkei 225 rose as much as 458.65 points – a high not seen since 1990 – but settled at 434.19 points higher to close at 27,490.13.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, rose 1.68 percent, or 30.12 points, to 1,826.30.
All industrial categories gained ground, led by iron and steel, non ferrous metal and insurance issues.
Stocks were firm from the morning bell as investor sentiment was bolstered by reports projecting that the US Democratic party had won two Senate runoff elections in Georgia.
In doing so, control of the upper chamber was handed to the Democrats, meaning their agenda of further stimulus to underpin the pandemic-hit economy as well as infrastructure spending, is hoped to speed up the recovery of the world’s largest economy.
“Shares advanced on the back of receding political risks and US stimulus hopes,” Toshikazu Horiuchi, equity strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities Co., was quoted as saying.
Financial issues gained ground, following higher bond yields, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group all advancing further into positive territory. – AFP, January 7, 2021
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