TOKYO: Tokyo stocks surged more than two percent to end at a 29-year high on Monday after Joe Biden was elected the next US president in a close contest that eventually delivered the outcome investors expected.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 2.12 percent, or 514.61 points, to end at 24,839.84, while the broader Topix index added 1.41 percent, or 23.41 points, to 1,681.90.
The Nikkei is now sitting at levels not seen since 1991.
"Investor sentiment was greatly improved due to receded US political risks," Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary. In Tokyo trading, internet investor SoftBank Group jumped 5.37 percent to 7,083 yen. It said after the market close that first-half net profit soared 346.7 percent, sealing a strong recovery after a massive annual loss. Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing added 3.74 percent to 78,310 yen, while Sony advanced 0.82 percent to 9,220 yen.
Toyota climbed 2.19 percent to 7,173 yen while its rival Honda soared 9.42 percent to 2,833.5 yen. But Eisai dived 23.64 percent to 7,819 yen after it failed to get approval from a panel of US Food and Drug Administration advisers for an Alzheimer's treatment the Japanese drugmaker is developing with Biogen.
Japan Airlines plunged 10.96 percent to 1,641 yen after it announced a public offering to shore up its capital.-AFP
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