Date: Monday 12 Jul 2010
The Nikkei retreated on Monday as traders mulled the government’s weekend election loss.The ruling Democratic Party's defeat on Sunday's Upper House elections hit overall market sentiment. Banks were among the casualties. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial dragged 2.1%.
However stronger commodity prices provided some interest while the weaker yen gave some exporters a lift. Shares in Honda added 2.92% in Tokyo while Sony surged 3.44%. Mitsubishi Corp rose 0.8% while Inpex rallied 3.6%.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 37 points at 9,548 in Tokyo.
The Hang Seng rose after weekend data showed China's June exports grew 43.9% year on year to a record $137bn.
Banks were mostly higher. ICBC gained 2.2% while Bank of Communications rose 2.2%. Rising commodity prices lifted shares in PetroChina 1.8% while China Shenhua added 2.4%.
Property plays also did well on speculation that the government will relax controls on mortgage lending. Shares in China Overseas Land bounced 4.2% in Hong Kong.The Hang Seng index rose 88 points to 20,467.
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