Europe open: Shares jump as Nikkei hits record after Japan election

(Sharecast News) - European shares made a strong start on Monday morning as investors rode the wave from Asia after Japan's Sanae Takaichi and her ruling Liberal Democratic Party won a massive victory in Sunday's national election. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.33% to 619.16 at 0828 GMT with all major regional bourses higher.

Japanese shares hit a record high in response and the yen strengthened against the dollar.

"Takaichi's spend big and tax low approach has gone down well with stock markets, with the Nikkei crossing the 57,000 barrier for the first time before pulling back a little," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Derren Nathan.

"That puts pressure on productivity and economic growth to do the heavy lifting when it comes to balancing the books. Japanese inflation is nearly at the Bank of Japan's target level of 2% but there are concerns that too much stimulus could see price increases accelerate again."

"The interplay between Governor Kazuo Ueda, and the newly emboldened premier will be the key dynamic to monitor, but markets look to be anticipating some pressure on state finances, with both the yen and prices of government securities under pressure after the result."

In equity news, shares in InPost surged after a consortium of Advent and FedEx agreed a €7.8bn deal to buy the Polish parcel locker company for 15.60 euros per share.

Under the deal, Advent and FedEx each will own 37% of the company, while A&R, the investment vehicle of InPost CEO Rafal Brzoska will hold 16% and PPF, the investment firm of the Czech Kellner family, will hold the remaining 10%.

UniCredit gained after the Italian bank posted a record annual net profit of €10.6bn.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com