Asian Shares Rise on US Senate Budget Blueprint Approval

October 23, 2017
Asian Shares Rise on US Senate Budget Blueprint Approval

By Investors Hub

Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Monday after the U.S. Senate approved a budget blueprint that paves the way for tax cuts and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party scored a big win in the nationwide parliamentary election Sunday, paving the way for a continuation of loose monetary policy.

Chinese shares finished marginally higher as home-price growth data disappointed investors and markets awaited cues from a key political congress. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 181 points or 0.64 percent at 28,305 in late trade.

Japanese shares rallied as the dollar hit a three-month high versus the yen following the weekend election victory for Shinzo Abe. The Nikkei average jumped 239 points or 1.11 percent to 21,696, extending gains for the fifteenth straight session and marking its longest winning streak on record.

The broader Topix index closed 0.84 percent higher at 1,745.25. Exporters and banks led the gainers, with Panasonic, Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rising about 2 percent each.

Australian shares gave up early gains to end lower, dragged down by financials and real-estate stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 13 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 5,894 after reaching a near six-month high earlier in the day. The broader All Ordinaries index finished 11.40 points or 0.19 percent lower at 5,957.20.

ANZ Banking slid 0.2 percent after it settled court action over alleged interest rate rigging. Commonwealth bank lost 0.4 percent and Westpac declined 0.3 percent. Miners turned in a mixed performance despite Chinese iron ore futures climbing more than 5 percent on Friday.

Gold miners succumbed to selling pressure, with Northern Star and Evolution Mining losing 1-2 percent after gold prices dropped to their lowest in two weeks on Friday.

Modupe Gbadeyanka

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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