Asian stocks hit new highs after Labour’s election victory

Asian share markets reached new highs on Friday after Britain’s Labour Party achieved a landslide victory in the general election.

Sterling was firm at $1.2762 as Britain's Labour Party was set for a landslide poll victory that will sweep it to power after 14 years of Conservative rule. Elsewhere, the dollar was slightly weaker and Treasury yields marginally higher in Tokyo, as trade resumed after the U.S. Independence Day holiday, News.Az reports citing Reuters.

Japan's Nikkei and broader Topix both nudged up to record levels, as did Taiwan's benchmark before retreating slightly.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan touched a two-year high with Samsung's estimate of a more than 15-fold rise in second-quarter profit helping South Korea's KOSPI to a two-year peak as well.

Singapore's bank and property heavy Straits Times index retreated after sharp gains lifted it to a two-year peak.

"Global liquidity remains flush and with the S&P (500) printing a ridiculous number of records these days...at some point valuations elsewhere will make a compelling enough case," said Vishnu Varathan, chief economist at Mizuho in Singapore.

He noted artificial intelligence demand had driven chipmaker rallies in Taiwan and South Korea, that interest-rate settings were fuelling record profits for Singapore's big banks and that a weak yen had been a tailwind for Japanese equities.

Japanese household spending unexpectedly fell in May, government data showed on Friday, complicating the interest rate outlook especially as one of the factors behind the drop has been how the weak yen has curbed consumers' purchasing power.

The yen rose slightly to 160.75 per dollar . FTSE futures ticked 0.2% higher on Friday and S&P 500 futures were up ever so slightly to suggest a fresh record for the cash index (.SPX) may be in store later in the day.

News.Az