Tokyo led Asia higher on Monday. The Nikkei 225 closed up 2.33% as banks and big exporters rallied with the dollar above 158 yen. Taiwan’s benchmark jumped almost 5%, while Seoul’s Kospi slipped and Australia ended barely changed.
MoneyTurkey Foreign Markets Desk | 9 November 2026
Key points
- The Nikkei 225 closed at 58,775.50, up 2.33% from Friday’s 57,434.77.
- Mitsubishi UFJ rose 4.4% to ¥3,366 (about US$21.28), Toyota gained 4.6% to ¥3,491 (about US$22.07) and Sony added 3.7% to ¥4,297 (about US$27.17).
- Taiwan’s Taiex closed up 4.9% at 41,661.7, while the Kospi fell 0.81% to 5,018.85.
- The dollar was at 158.15 yen at about 7:05am London time, up 0.4% from Friday.
What happened in Tokyo
Gains were broad and heavyweight-led. Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan’s biggest lender, rose 4.4%, and carmaker Toyota climbed 4.6%. Sony gained 3.7%.
The yen slipped even as Finance Ministry data released on Monday showed Tokyo spent a record ¥7.98 trillion (about US$50.4 billion) buying the currency on 30 July. We covered the intervention data here.
Across the region
Taiwan kept most of its early surge. The Taiex closed up 4.9% to 41,661.7, after Taiwanese authorities activated a stabilisation fund and curbs on short selling. Our earlier story has the details.
Seoul went the other way. The Kospi fell 0.81% to 5,018.85, even with Samsung Electronics up 0.6% and SK Hynix up 0.3%. The won firmed, with the dollar down 0.7% at 1,347.26 won.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.10% at 9,029.7, giving back most of its afternoon gains. New Zealand’s NZX 50 ended 0.18% lower at 13,973.62. The Australian dollar fell 0.6% to 0.6892 US dollars.
What to watch
- Whether Japanese officials comment on the yen with the dollar above 158
- Hong Kong’s close and the European open
- Whether Taiwan’s support measures keep the Taiex steady on Tuesday
For information only. Not investment advice.
Sources
- Yahoo Finance (index, stock and currency data, about 07:05 London): https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/world-indices/
- Kyodo News (intervention data): https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/90752
- The Japan Times (Bloomberg): https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/11/09/markets/japan-july-sept-yen-intervention/
