Investing.com — Asian stocks were mostly flat on Tuesday as focus shifted to major financial results due in the coming days, while Japan’s ruling party lost its parliamentary majority. The Japanese market continued to rise.
While US stocks rose on some hopes that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East would not worsen, regional markets shrugged off positive guidance from Wall Street and rose.
Wall Street futures were flat in Asian markets, with the focus on a number of big tech companies’ earnings scheduled in the coming days.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rises following election results
Japanese stocks and indexes were outliers among Asian stocks, extending their strong gains from the previous session, rising 0.3% and 0.9%, respectively. Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. (TYO:) was the stock that boosted the TOPIX the most, rising as much as 24% after announcing an agreement to acquire US chemical maker AOC.
Japanese markets rose broadly as the yen plunged after Japan’s ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party lost its parliamentary majority in a general election held over the weekend.
The outlook for Japanese politics is uncertain, as the Liberal Democratic Party will need to seek coalitions with smaller regional parties in order to remain in power. However, the prospect of political uncertainty has reinforced the view that the Bank of Japan may not have enough leeway to continue raising interest rates.
The Bank of Japan plans to keep interest rates on hold, and is widely expected to do so.
The Asian market is sluggish and economical due to high-tech companies’ profits. Data on tap
Broad Asian markets remained in a narrow range on Tuesday, with focus shifting to major US tech company earnings due in the next few days. Google owner Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:) is scheduled to report after the U.S. market closes on Tuesday, while Metaplatforms Inc. (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:) are scheduled to report on Wednesday.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) are scheduled to release reports on Thursday.
The gains in the five companies, which are some of the world’s biggest stocks, are expected to act as a bellwether for the broader market.
Regionally, a number of key economic indicators are also in focus. Australia rose 0.5% ahead of third quarter figures released on Wednesday.
October statistics will be released on Thursday, with China and the index each down 0.1%. The findings are expected to provide further clues about China’s economy after the Chinese government has rolled out a number of stimulus measures over the past month.
The Hong Kong index rose 0.6%, supported by buying in a corner of tech stocks.
Korean stocks fell 0.3%, and the rebound in Indian stocks seemed short-lived, with Indian futures showing a slightly weaker tone. This week will also see the announcement of even bigger Indian earnings from Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones Ltd (NS:). Bharti Airtel Ltd. (NS:) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (NS:) are expected to report later on Tuesday.
