Political turmoil in France and Japan continued to dominate global markets for a second straight day, unsettling currency and bond investors even as optimism around technology stocks persisted.
Global equities were mixed despite a multi-billion-dollar chip supply agreement between AMD and OpenAI.
In France, the unexpected resignation of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu deepened the country’s political crisis, rattling investor confidence. French bond futures slipped slightly in Asian trading after heavy losses on Monday, while the euro eased 0.2% to just below $1.17.
In Japan, the election of Sanae Takaichi as leader of the ruling party lifted the Nikkei to another record high, as markets bet her likely appointment as prime minister would usher in a new wave of fiscal stimulus and continued loose monetary policy. The yen weakened beyond 150 per dollar, hitting a two-month low, while Japanese government bond yields rose.
Markets in Hong Kong and China were closed for a holiday, while the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index gained 0.4%.
In currency trading, the US dollar strengthened, supported by weakness in both the euro and yen. Sterling slipped 0.1% to $1.3470, and the Australian dollar edged down 0.1% to $0.6612.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% to 46,700.45, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 6,745.46, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9% to 22,974.63.
After the close of US trading, the government announced it would purchase a 10% stake in Trilogy Metals, a Canadian miner with assets in Alaska — sending the company’s shares up 215% in after-hours trading.
In the bond market, yields on 10-year US Treasuries were steady at around 4.152% late Monday.
