BANGKOK – In a promising turn for Asian markets, Tuesday saw a notable rise in stocks, with Japan’s benchmark index nearing the significant 50,000 mark, as conservative politician Sanae Takaichi closed in on becoming Japan’s first female prime minister.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.8% to reach 49,595.72. This upward momentum came as Japanese legislators prepared to elect Takaichi, who is anticipated to champion policies favorable to the market, such as maintaining low interest rates and increasing government expenditure. However, her coalition holds only a slim majority in parliament, which might pose challenges for implementing her agenda.

The currency market also reacted, with the U.S. dollar rising to 151.05 yen from the previous 150.75 yen. If Takaichi succeeds in her push to decelerate interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, the yen may continue to weaken against the dollar. Such a scenario could complicate the bank’s efforts to rein in inflation, which has surpassed its target of approximately 2%.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged by 1.7% to 26,286.47, and the Shanghai Composite index increased by 1.2% to 3,910.13. These gains reflect the region’s optimism amid anticipated developments on the U.S.-China trade front.

Speculation is rife that U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at an upcoming regional summit later this month. This potential dialogue has fueled hopes of alleviating the trade tensions that have long gripped the two largest economies in the world.

In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.5% to 3,833.43, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.8% to 9,099.30.

Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.3%.

U.S. stocks rallied on Monday to the cusp of their records.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% to 6,735.13, pulling within 0.3% of its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.1% to 46,706.58. The Nasdaq composite gained 1.4% to 22,990.54.

Apple rose 3.9% to its own record high amid optimism about demand for its latest iPhone design. It was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500.

Cleveland-Cliffs jumped 21.5% after the steel company’s CEO, Lourenco Goncalves, said it would provide details soon about a potential deal with a major global steel producer that could mean bigger profits. He also said his company has potentially found signs of rare earths at sites in Michigan and Minnesota.

Such materials have grabbed the global spotlight after China recently put curbs on the export of its own rare earths, a move that President Donald Trump characterized as hostile. Trump’s ensuing threat of higher tariffs triggered big swings for Wall Street, but the concerns eased a bit after Trump said such high tax rates on Chinese imports are unsustainable.

Amazon’s stock held up despite a widespread outage for its cloud computing service that caused disruption for internet users around the world Monday. Amazon’s stock rose 1.6%.

This week features a raft of big names reporting their latest quarterly results, including Coca-Cola on Tuesday, Tesla on Wednesday and Procter & Gamble on Friday.

The pressure is on companies to show that their profits are growing following a torrid rally of 35% for the S&P 500 from a low in April. Companies face pressure to improve their profitability to counter fears that stock prices have gone too high.

Corporate profit reports have also taken on more importance because they offer windows into the strength of the U.S. economy when the U.S. government’s shutdown has delayed important economic updates.

That’s making the job of the Federal Reserve more difficult, as it tries to decide whether high inflation or the slowing job market is the bigger issue for the economy. Fed officials have indicated they’re likely to cut rates several more times in order to give the economy a boost. But that could be a mistake if inflation worsens, because low interest rates can push it even higher.

On Friday, the U.S. government will issue an update for inflation during September. The report was supposed to arrive earlier in month, and the Social Security Administration needs the numbers to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for beneficiaries. But the government also said, “No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until the resumption of regular government services.”

In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 12 cents to $56.90 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 13 cents to $60.88 per barrel.

The euro slipped to $1.1635 from $1.1641.