On January 14, 2024, local newspapers with front-page coverage of the Democratic Progressive Party’s victory in the presidential election are lined up at the reception counter of an office building in Taipei (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP) (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images)
Yasuyoshi Chiba | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets fell sharply after Taiwanese voters handed the Democratic Progressive Party another presidential victory, giving the ruling party an unprecedented third consecutive term.
Kiyonori Lai, the incumbent vice president of the Democratic Progressive Party, emerged as the winner of the autonomous island’s presidential election, winning more than 40% of the popular vote.
Investors are keeping an eye on China’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data to be released on Wednesday, while Japan is also scheduled to release December inflation data on Friday.
In Australia, S&P/ASX 200 The stock started the week 0.15% lower.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average The index rose slightly and continued to break records, and TOPIX also hit a new high, increasing by 0.35%.
Korean Kospi was also trading just above its flatline, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.12%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures stood at 16,306, indicating a strong opening compared to HSI’s closing price of 16,244.58.
U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day.
All three major indexes ended mixed in the U.S. market on Friday, with the four major banks reporting disappointing results as the fourth-quarter earnings season begins.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31%, while the S&P 500 ended 0.08% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.02% to close just above the flatline. .
—CNBC’s Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report