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Japanese stocks jumped to record levels after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide win in a snap general election as investors bet on her vision of a “strong and prosperous” nation.
The Nikkei 225 benchmark rose as much as 5 per cent on Monday, breaking through the 57,000 level for the first time, after Takaichi’s victory in Sunday’s election.
The broader Topix index also surged to a record high, breaching the 3,800 level for the first time.
Investors said Monday’s resurgent “Takaichi trade” was being driven by the prospect that the prime minister’s unprecedented majority would allow her to implement economic stimulus and follow through on her promise to drive corporate investment in key tech sectors.
The result on Sunday gave Takaichi a two-thirds supermajority in the 465-seat lower house, which would allow a first step towards changing Japan’s constitution. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party now holds its largest lower-house majority since its formation in 1955.
This is a developing story