Asia Markets Gain on Prospects of a Trump Presidency
Asian markets are broadly higher during mid-afternoon trade, tracking gains on Wall Street, as Trump edged ever closer to the presidency.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.6% higher, while Australia’s S&P ASX gained 0.8%.
Some background: Last month, Japanese voters delivered a stinging rebuke to their country’s longtime ruling party, led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed almost continuously since 1955, lost its parliamentary majority in the powerful lower house for the first time in 15 years.
On Wednesday, Chinese shares bucked the regional trend. The Shanghai Composite Index was in negative territory, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading 2.7% lower.
US stocks rallied in after-hours trading on Tuesday night and bitcoin hit a new record as Wall Street digested early presidential election results.
