Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled over 4% on Monday, following a mixed set of economic data out of Japan and as traders reacted to the election of incoming Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Japan’s August retail sales climbed 2.8% year on year, beating Reuters poll estimates of a 2.3% rise, and up from a revised 2.7% rise in July.
Ishida had beaten Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi in the final round of the Liberal Democratic Party election on Friday, sending the yen into a volatile session.
That means the Bank of Japan “will not face any political hurdle for hiking rates further,” Ryota Abe, economist at the global market and treasury department of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, told CNBC.
A higher interest rate typically strengthens the yen and puts pressure on Japanese stock markets, which are heavily weighted by exporters. A strong yen would then make their exports less competitive.