Economy News

Nikkei tops 57,000 for the first time after Takaichi's landslide as bond yields climb

Tokyo stocks hit records on Monday 9 February after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide in Sunday's lower house election. The Standard, carrying Reuters, says the LDP took 316 of 465 seats, a supermajority that lets it pass laws without upper house approval. Japanese media called it the party's best result since its founding in 1955, Malay Mail (AFP) reports.

The Nikkei 225 jumped 5.7% to 57,337.07 in early trade, with 197 of its 225 members rising and chip-tester Advantest up more than 13%; the Topix hit a record 3,825.67. Jiji Press says profit-taking capped the rally, with the Nikkei closing the morning session up 4.44% at 56,663.85.

Bonds fell. The two-year yield rose to 1.3%, its highest since May 1996, and the 10-year to 2.27%. The yen hit a record low of 203.30 against the Swiss franc and dropped as far as 157.95 per dollar before recovering. Finance ministry official Atsushi Mimura, quoted by Jiji, said: “We can only watch the market with a high sense of tension.”

“I think the reaction indicates that Takaichi has successfully convinced the market that she will be a strong leader, but not be a fiscally irresponsible one.” — Zuhair Khan, UBP, via The Standard

How each outlet framed it

• The Standard (Reuters) — the full market sweep: stocks, bond yields, the yen and a warning about possible intervention.
• Jiji Press — the Tokyo trading floor: a 3,000-point opening jump, then profit-taking by noon.
• Malay Mail (AFP) — the fiscal risk: debt more than twice the size of GDP, and a food consumption tax suspension that Bloomberg says would cost 5 trillion yen a year.

Where the numbers differ: Reuters has the Nikkei up 5.7% and the 10-year yield at 2.27%; Jiji's midday figures are 4.44% and 2.28%. AFP says the yen strengthened, while Reuters shows it falling first and then recovering against the dollar.