Asia report: Markets rise as investors react to Biden win

Markets in Asia were green across the board on Monday, as investors had their first chance to react to Joe Biden’s weekend victory in the United States presidential election.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 2.12% at 24.839.84, as the yen weakened 0.34% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 103.70.

Of the major components on the benchmark index, automation specialist Fanuc was up 0.81%, fashion firm Fast Retailing rose 3.75%, and technology conglomerate SoftBank Group jumped 5.37%.

The broader Topix index added 1.41% by the end of trading, to close at 1,681.90.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was ahead 1.86% at 3,373.73, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite rose 2.25% to 2,333.46.

South Korea’s Kospi was 1.27% firmer at 2,447.20, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 1.18% firmer at 26,016.17.

The blue-chip technology stocks were mixed in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics managing gains of 0.17%, while SK Hynix lost 0.35%.

Technology shares were among the leaders in Hong Kong, however, with SMIC and ZTE - both firms which have come under scrutiny from incumbent US president Donald Trump - up 2.49% and 5.94%, respectively.

Alibaba and Tencent were also in the green in the special administrative region, rising 2.91% and 1.3%.

The US presidential election was at the top of the agenda for traders on Monday, after Democratic candidate Joe Biden was projected as the winner on Saturday, following four days of counting.

Trump, however, has refused to concede, calling the election “far from over” and promising to file a number of lawsuits claiming irregularities in the electoral process.

No evidence has been offered for such irregularities, however.

The positive sentiment around the US election saw traders seemingly shrug off the latest on the Covid-19 front, as the US topped 126,000 daily new cases for the second day in a row, and total confirmed infections globally reached the 50 million mark.

“Joe Biden has been declared president-elect, but Donald Trump is refusing to concede,” said Markets.com chief market analyst Neil Wilson.

“Markets are not particularly fussed and see some clear light – relative clarity is providing a boost to risk assets.

“Stocks enjoyed the best week since April, though there was some payback on Friday as traders consolidated gains.”

Wilson said the S&P 500 rallied 7% over the five sessions, but that did come after just about the worst pre-election week for stocks on record.

“Investors were shifting a lot of flow into lower volatility debt markets ahead of the election to reduce exposure to stock market volatility, and this is now unwinding back into equities.

“In particular, the Biden White House and split Congress ought to mean lower rates, lower inflation and this benefits growth stocks, and gold.”

Oil prices were higher at the end of the Asian day, with Brent crude last up 2.92% at $40.60 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate ahead 3.04% at $38.27.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 1.75% higher by end-of-play, settling at 6,298.80, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was 1.83% firmer at 12,562.20.

The down under dollars were in a mixed state against the greenback, with the Aussie last unchanged at AUD 1.3738, while the Kiwi strengthened 0.51% at NZD 1.4688.