The Tokyo stock exchange closed on Friday with a significant price gain. Investors in the Japanese capital reacted positively to the news that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is not running for re-election as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
There is speculation in the financial markets that his successor will do more to stimulate the Japanese economy.
The leading Nikkei index closed 2 percent higher at 29,113.86 points. The Topix, next to the Nikkei index, a vital stock market indicator in Tokyo, reached its highest level since 1991. The ruling party LDP, which has a majority in the Japanese House of Commons, will choose a successor to Suga at the end of this month, who has been prime minister for barely a year. He was not very popular among the Japanese because he handled the corona pandemic and allowed the Olympic Games.
Among the companies in Tokyo, attention was focused on the car group Mitsubishi Motors. The stock gained 0.7 percent after reports that the company plans to build a new factory in Bangladesh. Industry colleague Toyota rose 1.4 percent, and Mazda was 2.2 percent higher.
The Shanghai stock exchange lost 0.1 percent in the meantime, and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong recorded a minus of 0.6 percent. Finally, market researchers Caixin and Markit came up with figures on the Chinese service sector.
It showed a contraction last month. In Hong Kong, Alibaba was down with a minus of 3.3 percent. The company will allocate 100 billion yuan, to the prosperity plans of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi wants big tech companies to use their huge profits more to support the common prosperity in China, for example, by helping small businesses.
The Kospi in Seoul closed with a 0.7 percent gain, and the All Ordinaries in Sydney won 0.5 percent.