Asian stock markets rose broadly on Wednesday after incumbent U.S. President Barack Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney to win a second term defying the undertow of a slow-growth recovery and high unemployment. The re-election meant a continuation of easy monetary policy that would trigger more capital inflows into emerging markets.
Investors will now have to confront the prospect of the "fiscal-cliff", a mix of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect at the end of 2012, if lawmakers cannot agree on critical issues. Investors also kept an eye on Greece ahead of a parliamentary vote on austerity measures to unlock international aid.
Japanese shares ended little changed in directionless trading. The Nikkei average dropped 2 points or 0.03 percent to 8,973, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended up 0.1 percent. Utilities and metal firms ended firm, while airline companies and food makers closed on a subdued note.
Toyota Motor, which raised its outlook for the rest of the year ending March, closed unchanged, while Honda Motor edged up 0.4 percent and Nissan Motor climbed 4.2 percent. Nissan reported a better-than-expected 7.7 percent rise in the July-September net profit, but cut its full-year net profit forecast by 20 percent, citing faltering sales in China and the strength of the yen.
Shares of Softbank rallied 2.9 percent after subscriber data for October showed the mobile carrier won the most subscribers on a net basis in October, helping it retain the top spot for the 10th straight month. Shiseido climbed 3.8 percent on a brokerage upgrade. Sumitomo Metal Mining soared 6.2 percent after its full-year operating earnings forecast came in slightly above estimates. Yokogawa Electric plunged 10.7 percent after its net profit guidance for the fiscal year missed expectations.
China's Shanghai Composite index edged down 0.01 percent ahead of the once-in-a-decade top leadership change, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.7 percent, snapping two days of losses. Chinese property developer Evergrande soared 9.3 percent after posting its highest single-month contract sales in October.
Australian shares rose notably after Obama swept to re-election, ending a long period of uncertainty over fiscal policies and monetary easing. Both the benchmark S&P/ASX and the broader All Ordinaries index ended up about 0.7 percent each. Global miner BHP Billiton rose half a percent after the company said it has started the process to find a successor to chief executive Marius Kloppers as part of an ongoing process. Rio Tinto gained 0.8 percent, smaller rival Fortescue added 1.3 percent and gold miner Newcrest ended up 2.3 percent.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 0.6 percent as the lender reported a 5.7 percent rise in cash earnings in the quarter through September. ANZ added a percent and Westpac advanced 1.3 percent, while NAB edged down 0.2 percent. News Corp shares rallied 3.2 percent as the media firm posted a profit rise and maintained its earnings guidance. Harvey Norman fell 2.2 percent after the retailer reported a 20 percent fall in first-quarter earnings on the back of double digit fall in sales revenue and store closures.
Seoul shares gained ground as a second Obama administration meant that the Federal Reserve will stay the course on expansionary monetary policy. The benchmark Kospi average rose half a percent, led by exporters. Heavyweights Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor gained 1-2 percent, while utility Korea Electric Power Corp tumbled 3 percent after its president and CEO Kim Joong-kyum tendered his resignation, citing personal reasons.
New Zealand shares rose modestly, tracking firm regional cues. The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 0.4 percent, led by Fletcher Building on expectations that growing momentum in the Christchurch rebuild would translate into higher earnings for the company. Shares of the nation's largest construction company rose 1.7 percent, while steel building products supplier Steel & Tube rallied 2.8 percent ahead of its inclusion in the NZX-50 index on November 13.
Retailers also ended broadly higher, with Pumpkin Patch, Kathmandu Holdings and Michael Hill adding 2-3 percent. Among the prominent decliners, utility Contact Energy, telecommunications network operator Chorus, Auckland International Airport, the country's main international gateway, and rural services firm PGG Wrightson fell 1-3 percent.
Elsewhere, India's benchmark Sensex was up 0.3 percent, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index rose 0.8 percent, Singapore's Straits Times index was gaining 0.8 percent and the Taiwan Weighted average added 0.7 percent, while Malaysia's KLSE Composite index was down marginally.
On Wall Street, stocks ended notably higher overnight on hopes the election uncertainty will likely be removed. The Dow rose a percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.8 percent.
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Business News
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.