SEOUL, February 9 (AJP) — Asian markets joined the celebration of a landslide victory by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in a rare vote of confidence just three months after taking office, reinforcing expectations for a stimulus-focused economic agenda and a tougher stance toward China.
Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, won 354 of the 465 seats in the lower house, giving the ruling bloc a more than two-thirds majority. The result allows the government to override the upper house and push through key legislation.
The LDP alone secured 316 seats, its largest majority on record.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 5.18 percent to 57,065.25, setting a new record high following the decisive victory.
Global tech shares also supported sentiment. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s response to concerns over excessive artificial intelligence infrastructure spending lifted the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index more than 5 percent overnight, feeding optimism across chip-heavy Asian markets.
South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 4.5 percent to 5,316.22 by 11:10 a.m. in Seoul, recovering sharply from last week’s selloff. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ added 3.3 percent to 1,115.56.
With gains of 21 percent for the KOSPI and 17 percent for the KOSDAQ as of last week, South Korea’s stock market now ranks among the world’s eight largest by valuation. Both local and foreign brokerages see room for further advances, with some projecting a 12-month target of 7,500 for the KOSPI.
Individual investors were net sellers of 1.46 trillion won ($995 million), while foreign and institutional investors bought a net 330.9 billion won and 1.09 trillion won, respectively.
The return of foreign inflows supported the won, with the dollar slipping 1.30 won to 1,464.20 won.
All of the top 10 stocks by market capitalization on the KOSPI traded higher.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix advanced 5.36 percent and 5.60 percent to 167,100 won and 886,000 won, respectively, leading gains in the semiconductor sector. LG Energy Solution rose 1.82 percent to 392,000 won.
Financial and biotech shares also strengthened. Samsung Life Insurance gained 5.64 percent to 194,700 won, while Samsung Biologics added 2.40 percent to 1,708,000 won.
Automakers joined the advance, with Hyundai Motor rising 3.10 percent to 482,000 won and Kia up 1.38 percent at 154,000 won.
Defense and aerospace shares extended gains, with Hanwha Aerospace up 3.90 percent to 1,227,000 won.
Shipbuilders also benefited from the broader upswing. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rose 2.97 percent to 555,000 won, while Hanwha Ocean gained 2.68 percent to 134,100 won.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.29 percent to 26,903.20, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.82 percent to 4,099.01 in morning trade.
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