TOPSHOT – Officials look on as people vote during the general election at a polling station set up at a local school in Tokyo on October 27, 2024. Japan voted on October 27 in its tightest election in years, with new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his juggernaut Liberal Democratic Party facing potentially their worst result since 2009. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP) (Photo by RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)
This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 and its Topix index climbed on Monday, supported by a weak yen amid political uncertainty as the ruling LDP lost its parliamentary majority.
The Nikkei rose 1.82% to close at 38,605.53, leading gains in Asia while the Topix advanced 1.51% to 2,657.78. The yen weakened 0.64% to 153.28 on Monday.
The LDP and its coalition partner Komeito secured 215 out of 465 seats, while the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party and the Democratic Party for the People have made significant gains in this election.
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This political uncertainty could deter the Bank of Japan from hiking rates, some analysts said.
Izumi Devalier, chief Japan economist at Bank of America, said that while political uncertainty and instability could delay rate hikes, the BOJ cannot ignore sustained weakness in the yen.
"I don't think that necessarily means that the BOJ will be on hold for the foreseeable future. Obviously, you've got to watch the market developments, but we could still be on track for hikes in January or even December, depending on where the yen goes," she said.
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South Korea's Kospi gained 1.13% to 2,612.43, while the small cap Kosdaq was 1.8% higher, ending at 740.48 and rebounding off a six week low.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.12%, closing at 8,221.5.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index reversed losses to gain 0.18% as of its final hour, while mainland China's CSI 300 traded 0.2% higher and finished at 3,964.16, after China reported its worst industrial profit numbers since the pandemic. Industrial profits in China plunged 27.1% year on year in September.
On Friday in the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.56% to a new all-time high of 18,518.61 on Friday, boosted by megacap tech stocks.
Nvidia added 0.8%, and shares of Meta Platforms, Amazon and Microsoft were also higher.
However, other major benchmarks fell, with the S&P 500 0.03% lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.61%.
— CNBC's Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
Chinese steelmaker stocks climb after association signals possible consolidation in sector
Steelmaking stocks in China climbed on Monday after the country's iron and steel association signaled that the sector could undergo consolidation.
In a statement released on Friday, the China Iron and Steel Association noted that the sector was entering what it called the "stock optimization" stage, according to a Google translation, characterized by high output, cost and exports, as well as low demand, prices and efficiency.
As such, the association said, this caused steel prices to drop significantly, putting corporate profits under pressure amid "vicious competition" among companies in the sector.
Baoshan Iron and Steel, the largest steelmaker in China by market cap rose 4.86%, while second placed Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union saw a 4.17% gain.
Hunan Valin Steel, the fourth largest steelmaker in China, saw a 9.74% gain, the largest among the top five steelmakers by market cap.
— Lim Hui Jie
China’s industrial profits plunge at fastest pace since the pandemic
China's industrial profits in September fell 27.1% year-over-year, according to official data from the National Bureau of Statistics, marking the steepest plunge since the start of pandemic.
Profits at large Chinese industrial firms declined nearly 35% on year in March 2020, according to data kept by Wind Information.
In the first nine months of this year, industrial profits fell by 3.5% from a year ago. NBS statistician Yu Weining said "insufficient demand and a sharp decline in producer prices" weighed down the profitability of industrial firms.
Read the full story here.
— Anniek Bao
Oil prices slide more than 4% after Israel's 'limited' attack on Iran
Oil prices slid more than 4% on Monday as Israel's strikes on Iran over the weekend were dubbed as "limited" by local media, with Citi analysts discounting chances of an escalation that disrupts oil supplies.
Futures for global crude benchmark Brent slid 4.43% to $72.68 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 4.57% to $68.5 per barrel.
Israel on Saturday attacked Iran's military installations in three provinces in response to Tehran launching ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 1. Iranian News agency Tasnim reported the attack — which killed four soldiers — had inflicted "limited damages."
Read full story here.
— Lee Ying Shan
Yen weakens to fresh 3-month low after Japan elections
The Japanese yen weakened to fresh three-month lows against the dollar on Monday, after the ruling LDP lost its majority in the country's lower house following elections on Sunday.
The currency hit a low of 153.32 against the greenback, marking its weakest level since July 31.
— Lim Hui Jie
CNBC Pro: Buy this tech stock that's quietly automating warehouses with robots, say Berenberg and Citi — giving it 50% upside
Investment banks are telling investors to buy shares in a warehouse automation company, with price targets suggesting potential gains of more than 50 percent over the next 12 months.
The use of these systems means warehouses can store items four times more densely than manually operated warehouses while retrieving products faster than human workers. The increased efficiency and lower operating costs for its customers have allowed the firm to command significant profit margins, making its shares more valuable.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
CNBC Pro: Analysts give this Chinese tech stock 40% upside - but one CIO warns it could be a 'one trick pony'
This Chinese tech company has garnered interest among investors following a drop in its share price - but one market watcher is unimpressed.
"I think you might have a short-term rally. But that's not really about [the stock]- it's about sort of the broad based rally," Jason Hsu, founder and chief investment officer of Rayliant Global Advisors says.
Unlike Hsu, not everyone is so negative about the stock with 35 out 46 analysts having a buy or overweight rating and an average upside of 40.1%.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more on the stock - and Hsu's take - here.
— Amala Balakrishner
Nasdaq ends Friday higher ahead of megacap tech earnings
The Nasdaq Composite outshined the other major U.S. indexes on Friday as investors piled into major tech stocks ahead of earnings next week.
The tech-heavy index rose 0.56%, ending at 18,518.61. The S&P 500 lost 0.03% to end the trading session at 5,808.12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 259.96 points, or 0.61%, to 42,114.40.
— Pia Singh
KeyBanc downgrades Apple over iPhone sale concerns
Recent consumer survey data on iPhone sales points to a lack of growth for Apple, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Shares fell nearly 1% in the premarket after analyst Brandon Nispel downgraded the megacap tech name to underweight from sector weight, and his updated price target reflects more than 13% downside ahead, as of Thursday's close.
Nispel thinks the iPhone SE is "not purely additive" to overall iPhone sales, citing data from the firm's consumer iPhone survey for September. The survey showed that 59% of respondents are interested in upgrading to the iPhone 16. Additionally, among those who are likely or extremely likely to upgrade to the iPhone 16, 61% are interested in the iPhone SE.
"We think this shows the iPhone SE is not incremental, and could possibly be cannibalistic to iPhone 16 sales," the analyst wrote in a Thursday note. "From our view, if iPhone SE is successful, iPhone Units could rise but [average sales prices] could fall, contrary to consensus."
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Sean Conlon
