Local newspapers with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) victory in the presidential election on the front pages remain on the counter at the reception of an office building in Taipei on January 14, 2024. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP) (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
Yasuyoshi Chiba | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets are set to fall after Taiwanese voters handed the Democratic Progressive Party another presidential victory, delivering the ruling party an unprecedented third-straight presidential term.
The DPP’s Lai Ching-te, the incumbent vice-president, emerged as the winner of the self-governing island’s presidential contest with more than 40% of the popular vote.
Investors will be closely watching China’s fourth quarter gross domestic numbers due out on Wednesday, while Japan will also release inflation figures for December on Friday.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.15% to start the week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 can go either way based off futures data. Futures contract in Chicago was at 35,635 and its counterpart in Osaka at 35,590, after the Nikkei hit levels not seen since February 1990 last week. and closed at 35,577.11.
In contrast, futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 16,306 pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI’s close of 16,244.58
U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday in remembrance of Martin Luther King Day.
On Friday in the U.S., all three major indexes ended mixed as the fourth quarter earnings season got under way.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.31%, but the S&P 500 ended the day 0.08% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed just above the flatline, gaining 0.02%.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report