Asian markets mostly higher, Japanese Nikkei falls ahead of election

Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba called the snap election shortly after taking office, seeking support amid a political scandal. Uncertainty has grown, complicating the Bank of Japan’s shift from near-zero rates. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.6% to 37,913.92, and the yen weakened against the dollar, trading at 151.90.

China’s central bank kept its lending rate at 2%, injecting 700 billion yuan in loans. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.6%, Shanghai Composite gained 0.4%, and South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 each edged up 0.1%.

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On Wall Street, Tesla led gains with a 21.9% jump after a strong earnings report, while Boeing dropped 1.2% amid ongoing machinist strikes. Rising Treasury yields and unemployment claims added mixed signals. The 10-year yield fell to 4.20%.

In commodities, U.S. crude added 16 cents to $70.35 a barrel, and Brent rose 14 cents to $74.17. The euro fell to $1.0817.