Japanese stocks notched fresh record highs on Tuesday while the yen weakened as conservaive leader Sanae Takaichi won a key lower house vote, largely confirming her as Japan’s next prime minister.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 climbed as much as 1.5% to a fresh peak of 49,945.95 points before the outcome of the vote. The index last traded 0.6% higher at 49,486.2 points as of 05:21 GMT.

The broader TOPIX index also reached a new record high of 3,274.06 points on Tuesday but later shed some gains.

Leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, Takaichi won 237 votes, more than the required majority in the 465-seat lower house, media reports showed. She is also widely anticipated to secure victory in the less influential upper house, where vote counting was still in progress.

The ruling LDP has allied with the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin) to secure sufficient backing.

Expectations of tax cuts, higher defence spending and government investment under Takaichi’s conservative leadership spurred optimism across sectors from technology to finance.

The yen, meanwhile, slipped further after the outcome, with the USD/JPY pair rising 0.4% to 151.4 yen, pressured by speculation that the Bank of Japan may delay further interest rate increases to support growth.

The currency’s weakness reflected concerns that a Takaichi government could prioritise economic expansion over monetary tightening.

If confirmed, Takaichi will become Japan’s first female prime minister, succeeding Shigeru Ishiba after weeks of coalition negotiations.