London — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s election victory lifted world stocks and the dollar on Monday, relegating concerns about Spain’s escalating political crisis to little more than a blip on the market radar. Abe’s emphatic win, which heralds a continuation of Japan’s hypereasy monetary policy, kept risk-on bets in play after new optimism about tax cuts in the US had pushed Wall Street to a new record on Friday. President Donald Trump also indicated that the re-appointment of Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen was still a possibility. The dollar rose 0.4% to ¥113,91 on Monday, its highest since July, and edged up 0.3% against a basket of currencies. The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1742. "It seems most likely to me that dollar strength is now dominating in euro-dollar," said Esther Reichelt, foreign exchange strategist at Commerzbank, also pointing to the imminent Fed chair decision. European shares Stoxx 600 rose 0.3%, although banks weighed and Madrid’s bourse Ibex lagged its pe...
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