Asian shares mostly higher, Tokyo up on Abe poll win

HONG KONG: Asian shares mostly rose on Monday following a mixed lead from Wall Street, while Tokyo was boosted by a parliamentary election win for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party.

Tokyo rose 0.32 percent, Hong Kong added 0.15 percent, Sydney added 0.83 percent and Seoul was 0.92 percent higher while Shanghai slipped 0.80 percent.

Bangkok was closed for a public holiday.

Japan's Nikkei rallied more than one percent in the first few minutes before settling back following Sunday's upper house election victory for the Liberal Democratic Party that will likely usher in a period of stability for Japan.

The win means both chambers of parliament will be under government control, unblocking the bottleneck that has hampered legislation for the past six short-term premiers.

That will strengthen Abe's hand as he tries to push through structural reforms aimed at dragging Japan out of two decades of economic malaise.

In Shanghai, traders sold financial stocks after the government at the weekend removed a lower limit on lending rates, leaving banks free to set their own rates. Analysts said the move could result in narrower interest margins for lenders.

Focus will now be on the release on Wednesday of Chinese manufacturing data that will provide a fresh clue about the state of the world's number two economy.

On Wall Street shares were mixed as weak corporate results from tech firms offset a strong showing for industrials. The Dow ended flat, while the S&P 500 was up 0.16 percent and the Nasdaq fell 0.66 percent.

In morning forex trade the dollar was at 100.01 yen, down from 100.50 yen in New York Friday, while the euro bought 131.53 yen and $1.3155, compared with 132.08 yen and $1.3142.

And on oil markets, New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in August, rose 37 cents to $108.42 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for September gained 29 cents to $108.36.

Gold cost $1,314.14 per ounce at 0205 GMT, compared with $1,289.56 late Friday. (AFP)