Asia report: Markets turn higher as Clinton is cleared again

Markets in Asia finished in the green on Monday, after US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was cleared of criminal charges for a second time over her use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.51% to finish at 17,177.21, with the yen 1.33% weaker against the greenback at JPY 104.49.

Suzuki Motor was up an exceptional 7.19% during the session, after the carmaker jacked up its profit outlook by 2.4% to JPY 200bn.

The company put that down to better-than-expected sales to Europe and India.

During the session, the Bank of Japan published the minutes of its September meeting, showing a single board member at the central bank said it should be prepared to use all of the tools in its policy arsenal to achieve its 2% inflation target.

Others on the board agreed the pressures on inflation in Japan would take some time to ease up.

Markets in China were relatively muted, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.1% and the Shenzhen Composite retreating 0.098%.

E-commerce and technology conglomerate Leshi Internet Information and Technology, better known as LeEco, finished down 4.31% as analysts raised concerns about the firm’s massively rapid expansion.

In Seoul, the Kospi finished up 0.79% to 1,997.58, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 0.51% higher.

Investors in the special administrative region appeared to be relatively unmoved by the legal case surrounding two pro-independence lawmakers.

Hong Kong-listed shares in HSBC were up 1.74% after the British bank posted an 86% decline in pre-tax profit for the third quarter.

The markets were looking towards the US presidential election, being held on Tuesday, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Sunday that its view of Clinton’s use of a private email server remained unchanged from July.

In July, the FBI cautioned Clinton, saying her transgression was very careless, but not criminal insofar as they could ascertain.

“This has made matters a lot easier for Hillary Clinton and it will help her to ease off some of the uncertainty and [is] good news for investors who have an appetite for risk in this environment,” noted ThinkMarkets chief market analyst Naeem Aslam.

Oil prices were higher during Asian trading, as apparent tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia threatened to sabotage the cut on output being negotiated by members of the OPEC cartel.

Brent crude was last up 1.26% at $46.16 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate added 1.56% to $44.77.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 1.35% to finish at 5,250.80, with all of its subindexes finishing higher except for gold, which settled down a sizeable 3.14%.

Major bank Westpac was up 2.66%, after it announced its full-year results, featuring the lowest return on equity for seven years.

The bank blamed that on higher capital requirements from the Australian regulator, as well as record low interest rates.

It also abandoned its 15% return on equity target, with a 130% to 14% goal said to be much more realistic by CEO Brian Hartzer.

Fortescue Metals added 3.4%, following the lead of Chinese iron futures, which reached their strongest point in over two years on Friday.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 surged 2.4% to 6,872.26, led higher by Metro Performance Glass which gained 7%, ending several weeks of endless selloffs in the Pacific island nation.

“We're seeing some evidence that the selling we've seen in the past few weeks has run its course for now,” Harbour Asset Management director Shane Solly was quoted as saying in the National Business Review.

The down under dollars were mixed, with the Kiwi 0.18% weaker against the greenback at NZD 1.3671, while the Aussie strengthened 0.1% to AUD 1.3020.