Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mostly lower Tuesday as investors focused on Japan’s new government and key export data out of Tokyo.
Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, and her new cabinet were inaugurated Monday night.
Among her appointees were defense minister Shinjiro Koizumi — her rival in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race — as well as Satsuki Katayama, Japan’s first female finance minister.
Japan markets were poised for a higher open, with the futures contract in Chicago at 49,505 and its counterpart in Osaka at 49,380 compared to the previous close of 49,316.06.
On Tuesday, the Nikkei briefly set a new intraday record of 49,945.95, before retreating after Takaichi won the parliamentary vote to become Prime Minister.
