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NZ Dollar Rises Amid Risk Appetite After Abe's Win

23:06, 22nd October 2017

(RTTNews) - The New Zealand dollar climbed against its major opponents in the Asian session on Monday, as most Asian shares rose following a land slide victory for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Parliamentary elections on Sunday, paving way for a continuation of loose monetary policy.

Abe's coalition regained a two-thirds majority in the Lower House, winning 312 seats out of 465 seats in the election.

Solid victory for Abe would allow him to continue fiscal stimulus measures under his Abenomics program.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Saturday asked lawmakers to grant him unprecedented power to remove the leaders of Catalonia and temporarily control the region from Madrid.

He said that Spain's central government ministries would administer the region's agencies until new elections are called, a shake-up meant to quell Catalan leaders' insurrection.

The European Central Bank reviews its monetary policy on Thursday, with investors waiting to see whether President Mario Draghi will announce the long-awaited start of tapering.

Data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index improved more than initially estimated in August.

The leading index, which measures the future economic activity, climbed to 107.2 in August from 105.2 in July. The reading for August was revised up from 106.8.

The kiwi slipped on Friday, amid concerns that the Labour led coalition government may impose curbs on immigration and foreign investment.

The kiwi rose to a 4-day high of 79.34 against the yen, off its early low of 79.02. The kiwi-yen pair is seen finding resistance around the 80.00 region.

The kiwi advanced to 1.6865 against the euro, 1.1212 against the Aussie and 0.6978 against the greenback, from its previous more than 5-month low of 1.6959, near 6-month low of 1.1257 and a 5-month low of 0.6932, respectively. If the kiwi rises further, it is likely to find resistance around 1.10 against the aussie, 0.71 against the greenback and 1.67 against the euro.

Looking ahead, Canada wholesale sales for August and Eurozone preliminary consumer sentiment index for October are due in the New York session.