Asian stock are notably higher on Monday after Democratic candidate Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump and removed uncertainty regarding the U.S. presidential race from the markets. A divided government with a Joe Biden presidency and Republican-controlled Senate is seen as unlikely to raise taxes and also imply a more predictable approach to trade policy.
The Australian market is rising to its highest levels since March.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 93.70 points or 1.51 percent to 6,283.90, after touching a high of 6,291.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is adding 101.90 points or 1.59 percent to 6,496.90. Australian stocks closed higher on Friday.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 4 percent, BHP Group is rising almost 3 percent and Rio Tinto is advancing more than 2 percent.
Gold miners are also higher after gold prices rose modestly on Friday. Evolution Mining is rising more than 2 percent and Newcrest Mining is adding almost 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is advancing more than 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are higher in a range of 0.3 percent to 0.8 percent.
Oil stocks are advancing even as crude oil prices tumbled Friday. Santos is higher by more than 1 percent, Oil Search is adding 0.2 percent and Woodside Petroleum is edging up 0.1 percent.
On the economic front, the total number of building permits issued in Australia in September was up a seasonally adjusted 15.4 percent on month at 15,827. Permits for private sector houses rose 9.7 percent to 10,238 and permits for private sector dwellings excluding houses spiked 23.4 percent to 5,189.
The Japanese market is notably higher.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 495.50 points or 2.04 percent to 24,820.73, after touching a high of 24,829.12 earlier. Japanese shares closed at a 29-year high on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is rising more than 4 percent and Fast Retailing is higher by more than 3 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is rising more than 3 percent.
The major exporters are mostly higher despite a stronger yen. Panasonic is advancing more than 1 percent, while Sony is adding almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is up 0.3 percent, while Canon is down 0.2 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down 0.3 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding 0.2 percent.
Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 8 percent after reporting an increase in its second-quarter profit and raising its full-year outlook. Toyota is rising more than 3 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Mitsui E&S is gaining more than 10 percent and Bandai Namco is higher by almost 8 percent.
Conversely, Eisai Co. is falling more than 23 percent, Minebea Mitsumi is tumbling more than 8 percent and West Japan Railway is losing more than 3 percent.
On the economic front, Japan will see preliminary September numbers for its leading and coincident indexes today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 103 yen-range on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong are all rising more than 1 percent each. Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed roughly flat on Friday after seeing early weakness partly due to profit taking following the strong upward move seen over the past several sessions. Lingering uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election also weighed on the markets as several key states continue to count votes.
While the Nasdaq inched up 4.30 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 11,895.23, the Dow dipped 66.78 points or 0.2 percent to 28,323.40 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.01 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 3,509.44.
The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Friday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.7 percent.
Crude oil futures ended sharply lower on Friday, weighed down by rising concerns over the outlook for energy demand due to the continued surge in coronavirus cases across the U.S. and in several European countries. Crude for December delivery tumbled $1.65 or 4.3 percent to $37.14 a barrel.
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