CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks were mostly lower in thin holiday trade on Monday, even as Japanese markets soared to a record high after fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi was elected to lead the ruling party.
China and South Korean markets remain shut for holidays. Regional markets elsewhere drifted lower as investors pondered over the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies and attacks on the independence of the Federal Reserve.
Market attention in the week ahead will largely be fixed on the earnings calendar along with scheduled address from several Federal Reserve officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Japan' s Nikkei index jumped 4.5 percent to a record high as bond yields plunged, and the yen fell 1.5 percent to the closely watched 150 to the dollar after Takaichi's election win.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 0.55 percent to 26,992. Media reports suggest that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a $10 billion bailout for soybean farmers hit by China's boycott, highlighting Beijing's growing leverage in trade negotiations.
Australian markets were marginally lower after soaring to a six-week high earlier. Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index slipped 0.20 percent to 13,487.03.
Oil prices jumped nearly 1.5 percent in Asian trade after OPEC+ announced a modest production boost of 137,000 barrels a day in November, tempering some concerns about supply additions.
The dollar was little changed, retracing some recent losses on uncertainty caused by the government shutdown.
Gold surged almost 1 percent to a new record high past $3,900 an ounce as U.S. shutdown worries added to the momentum from expectations of more Fed rate cuts.
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday as the government shutdown put the release of key economic data, including monthly jobs numbers, on hold.
However, a measure of U.S. services sector activity stalled in September amid a sharp slowdown in new orders and weak hiring, bolstering investor confidence that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates in the coming months.
The S&P 500 edged up marginally and the Dow added half a percent to close at record highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite eased 0.3 percent, dragged by sharp decline in shares of Palantir Technologies.
European stocks closed mostly higher on Friday after the release of regional manufacturing and services sector activity readings.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rose half a percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.7 percent and France's CAC 40 gained 0.3 percent while the German DAX slid 0.2 percent.
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