Market Snapshot – Abe Wins Japanese Elections as Expected

Abe Wins Comfortably

One of the events that the market was eagerly looking forward to, over the weekend, was the elections in Japan where the current PM Abe was seeking re-election. Though the opinion polls showed that he would win comfortably, the market did not want to commit itself before the results were actually in. But the elections turned out to be as per plan as Abe and his part swept the elections. This led to rejoining in the Japanese stock markets as the Nikkei tore higher on the hopes that he would continue his policies from where he had left off and any kind of stability is always good for the markets. The yen turned out to be weaker, which was again an expected outcome of his re-election but so far, the stock markets in Europe also seem to have picked up the euphoria and have been generally steady. The US futures are also pointing upwards and this should ensure a strong opening for the stock indices in the US.

All Eyes on Trump for Next Fed Chief

On the other hand, some amount of caution needs to be exercised by the traders as the choice of the next chief of the Fed continues to hang in the balance, Many names have been bandied out and so far, it is still not sure who Trump would favor ultimately. The dollar has been holding steady amongst all the rumors that have been swirling in the markets over the past few days and though the stock markets in the US are expected to open strongly, it remains to be seen how long this is likely to last as the choice of the next Fed chief is likely to bring in a lot of volatility.