Shares in Japan hit 30-year high thanks to ‘Biden bounce’ after US election result

Japanese shares jumped to a 30-year high and markets across Europe also rose after Joe Biden was named as the president-elect of the US.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index rose 2.6 per cent when the market opened at 9am on Monday (12am GMT) and later closed up 2.1 per cent at a level not seen since 1991.

Its gains were also down to its recent boom in car manufacturing from brands including Toyota.

Elsewhere in Asia, the markets also looked healthy after the result. Topix index in Japan jumped 1.7 per cent, China’s CSI 300 index jumped 2.1 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.6 per cent.

The Sensex in India also jumped as much as 1.6 per cent to a record high and the Kospi in South Korea was 1.4 per cent.

Over in Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 topped the 6,000 mark for the first time in a month when the markets opened at 8am on Monday, jumping as much as 1.7 per cent or more than 100 points in early trading.

Networks on Saturday announced Mr Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, as the winners of the election after the duo flipped former red state Pennsylvania to the Democrats, handing them 20 electoral votes.

Prior to the Pennsylvania win, eyes were on the state of Nevada, which saw Mr Biden speeding ahead over Donald Trump and would have handed him the six points he needed to scoop the presidency.

After winning the election with the landslide 20 points, Nevada was also named a Democractic win around 30 minutes later.

Mr Biden has vowed to tackle the coronavirus pandemic head-on while in office and is believed to be planning to unveil a new stimulus package.

Chinese investors also see Mr Biden as a positive hope for the future as he could be more open to trading and the expansion of tech in the US.

Mr Trump meanwhile forged a difficult relationship with China during his presidency, going head-to-head in a trade war with the country and attempting to ban Chinese-owned apps and WeChat TikTok.

While stock markets have welcomed the prospect of a Biden presidency, the US political system continues to “throw curveballs” when least expected, said  Stuart Clark, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors.

"There will be a run-off election in Georgia for the remaining Senate seats in January and this is likely to decide whether or not Biden can enact his agenda and push through the policies he promised to introduce. Without it, we very much see the status quo dominating once again.

“For now, however, markets seem to be embracing the news and have not been too unsettled by the lack of clarity last week brought. For long-term investors it goes to show that this election is a timely reminder to block out the noise and not be swayed by certain political events."