London (AFP) - Japanese stocks surged to a record high Monday as investors cheered Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s victory in a snap parliamentary election.

Events in Japan helped boost sentiment across Asia, and Europe’s top equity markets ended the day higher despite periods of weakness.

Wall Street opened modestly lower after a rally on Friday saw the Dow push above 50,000 points for the first time, capping a volatile week when tech stocks took a hammering, although they pushed higher in Monday morning trading.

Takaichi’s resounding victory saw her Liberal Democratic Party take around a two-thirds majority of the lower house, paving the way for increased fiscal stimulus and massive tax cuts.

Financial markets may be nervous about Japan’s public finances and its gargantuan debt pile if Takaichi decides to cut taxes and boost spending.

But for now investors are upbeat, pushing the benchmark Nikkei 225 above 57,000 points for the first time, and the yen also advanced.

“A big victory was expected but this is probably even more impressive,” said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.

“The ‘supermajority’ has raised the prospects of even more aggressive policy, including fiscal plans,” he added.

Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets also closed higher, and Seoul climbed more than four percent, helped by a six-percent jump in Samsung shares after a report said it would start mass production of its next-generation HBM4 memory chips.

Bangkok added more than three percent after a stunning election victory for caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s conservative Bhumjaithai Party that boosted hopes for political stability.

In Europe, UK bond yields pushed higher as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrambled to shore up his premiership Monday, preparing to face lawmakers furious that his Labour government has become embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

“A political risk premium is once again being built up in UK asset prices, as the market fears what a new leader could bring to the table in terms of economic policy,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.

Wall Street equities trading overcame early losses. While the Dow wobbled both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced.

Analysts said caution still dominates with regards to the tech sector, which has been hit by worries over the vast sums being invested in AI and doubts about when they will produce returns.

Precious metals returned to stability, with gold at around $5,000 an ounce and silver a little below $80 an ounce after both saw wild swings and smashed record highs.

Economic data coming this week includes US retail sales, jobs and inflation figures.

In other company news, shares in Novo Nordisk rallied 5.3 percent in Copenhagen after a US telehealth chain said it would drop a copycat of the new pill version of its hugely popular weight-loss drug Wegovy.

- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 50,95.08 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 6,967.95

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 23,252.27

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,386.23 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 8,323.28 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 25,014.87 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.9 percent at 56,363.94 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 27,027.16 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 4,123.09 (close)

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.04 yen from 157.09 yen on Friday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1897 from $1.1825

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3670 from $1.3615

Euro/pound: UP at 87.05 pence from 86.82 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.2 percent at $68.83 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $64.27 per barrel

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