Yen, Kiwi Drop as Politics in Focus; Stocks Mixed: Markets Wrap

The yen declined on speculation Japan’s prime minister will press for a stimulus package alongside his expected call for a snap election -- sending the nation’s stocks higher. The kiwi and euro both slid as ballot results foreshadowed potentially complex political coalition building.

New Zealand’s vote kicked off what could be weeks of coalition-building talks, helping wipe as much as 1.1 percent off the currency’s value amid disappointment the ruling party failed to get a majority. The euro was modestly weaker against the dollar after Chancellor Angela Merkel won Germany’s election with a smaller share of the vote, with focus on a surprisingly strong result for a far-right party.

Japan’s Shinzo Abe speaks later Monday, with a report that he may seek a 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) stimulus package to support the economy.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Japan’s Topix index advanced 0.4 percent as of 2:20 p.m. Tokyo time. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed and South Korea’s Kospi index slid 0.5 percent.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 1.1 percent with Chinese property developers slumpingafter several cities on the mainland tightened rules on home sales.

Futures on the S&P 500 were up less than 0.1 percent. The underlying gauge closed up 0.1 percent on Friday, finishing the week with a 0.1 percent gain.

Currencies

The yen slid 0.3 percent to 112.27 per dollar, kicking the week off on a down note after recording declines over the past two weeks.

The euro slid 0.1 percent to $1.1934.

The kiwi dropped about 1 percent to 72.64 U.S. cents.

The won advanced 0.6 percent to 1,129.41 per dollar.

The British pound climbed 0.3 percent to $1.3543.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude lost 0.3 percent to $50.53 a barrel.

Gold lost 0.3 percent to $1,292.72 an ounce.

Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal

Junior Trader Stefan Panteleev

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