AFP, Tokyo :
Japanese shares powered to a new 27-year high on Monday after the US and Canada clinched a long-awaited trade deal, but other Asian equity markets struggled in subdued holiday trading.
Tokyo’s leading Nikkei index closed at 24,245.76, finally crossing the record level it had flirted with on Friday, as traders shrugged off disappointing business confidence data and a weekend typhoon that shredded the country.
Also driven by a weaker yen against the dollar, this represented a gain of 0.52 percent and was the top performer in Asia, where markets in Hong Kong and China were closed.
Analysts warned, however, that traders could be looking to take some cash off the table following healthy gains in recent days. “While the market maintained its strong momentum, it would be no surprise to see investors cash in on the recent gains at any time,” Hikaru Sato, senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities, told AFP.
Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi index was off 0.1 percent and Australian equities were lower by 0.6 percent in thin trade due to a public holiday.
Traders appeared broadly encouraged by news that the US and Canada had reached an agreement on a new free trade pact that will include Mexico, with the Canadian dollar jumping on news of the deal.
“Reaching a 27-year high is symbolic but still a stop on the road to further gains,” Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told AFP.
“The news about NAFTA gave an extra boost to the market.” European stocks opened cautiously, amid concerns over Italian budgetary woes. Paris opened broadly flat and the German DAX was up 0.16 percent. London’s FTSE-100 opened in the green by 0.19 percent.
Japanese shares powered to a new 27-year high on Monday after the US and Canada clinched a long-awaited trade deal, but other Asian equity markets struggled in subdued holiday trading.
Tokyo’s leading Nikkei index closed at 24,245.76, finally crossing the record level it had flirted with on Friday, as traders shrugged off disappointing business confidence data and a weekend typhoon that shredded the country.
Also driven by a weaker yen against the dollar, this represented a gain of 0.52 percent and was the top performer in Asia, where markets in Hong Kong and China were closed.
Analysts warned, however, that traders could be looking to take some cash off the table following healthy gains in recent days. “While the market maintained its strong momentum, it would be no surprise to see investors cash in on the recent gains at any time,” Hikaru Sato, senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities, told AFP.
Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi index was off 0.1 percent and Australian equities were lower by 0.6 percent in thin trade due to a public holiday.
Traders appeared broadly encouraged by news that the US and Canada had reached an agreement on a new free trade pact that will include Mexico, with the Canadian dollar jumping on news of the deal.
“Reaching a 27-year high is symbolic but still a stop on the road to further gains,” Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told AFP.
“The news about NAFTA gave an extra boost to the market.” European stocks opened cautiously, amid concerns over Italian budgetary woes. Paris opened broadly flat and the German DAX was up 0.16 percent. London’s FTSE-100 opened in the green by 0.19 percent.
