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Asia report: Stocks end mixed, Japanese politics in focus

Wed 08 October 2025 08:25 | A A A

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(Sharecast News) - Stocks in the region were mostly lower in the middle of the week, taking their lead from Wall Street.

Japanese markets also had to contend with media reports that the ruling coalition might be under threat, as lawmakers in the Komeito party were pushing for an exit.

Tokyo's Nikkei-225 slipped 0.45% to 47,734.99 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng by 0.48% to 26,820.46.

Dollar/yen strengthened 0.68% to 152.94 on the back of the latest political news, although the broader US dollar index was higher too.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year JBG was up by two basis points at 1.704%.

Stock markets in mainland China remained closed in observance of the National Day holiday.

South Korean markets were also still shut.

Taiwan's TAIEX slipped 0.54% to 27,063.68, whilst Australia's All Ordinaries drifted down by 0.09% to 9,244.84.

Vietnam's HNX index notched up a fresh record high and Bombay's Sensex dipped 0.11% to 81,836.43.

The former followed FTSE Russell's decision to upgrade the country's market to its emerging market index from its Frontier Index.

Back on the subject of Japanese politics, newly chosen LDP leader Sanae Takaichi was still expected to be chosen as the next PM at an extraordinary session of the Diet scheduled for the front half of the week beginning on 20 October.

Commenting on the matter, MUFG analyst Lee Hardman said: "Heightened political uncertainty and fiscal dominance fears are likely to remain a weight on the yen in the near-term until more clarity emerges over the outlook for economic policy in Japan."

On the economic side of things, analysts at Citi were telling clients that economic activity in China had remained "lukewarm" over the Golden Week Holiday, with no visible sign of the wealth effect from the rally in the country's stock market.

And according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, real wages in the region's second-largest economy fell for an eighth consecutive month at a year-on-year pace of 1.4%.

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