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Tokyo’s Nikkei jumps more than 1.3% on US rallies, cheaper yen
TOKYO, April 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index jumped
more than 1.3 percent on Monday, taking heart from rallies in New York and a
cheaper yen against the dollar.
The Nikkei 225 index added 1.37 percent, or 298.55 points, to close at
22,169.11, rising for the third straight session. The broader Topix index was
up 1.40 percent, or 22.53 points, at 1,627.93.
The dollar fetched 111.94 yen in Asian afternoon trade, slightly down from
111.99 yen in New York late Friday but still up from 111.81 yen in Tokyo on
Friday.
“Rallies in US shares and a cheaper yen are seen helping boost Japanese
shares,” Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a
commentary.
Shuji Hosoi, senior market strategist at Daiwa Securities, added that the
focus this week is on Japan-US trade negotiations and a series of Chinese
economic indicators, including first-quarter GDP growth figures due on
Wednesday.
As optimism grows that the United States and China are nearing a trade
deal, Japan kicks off its own negotiations with Washington from Monday.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Japan’s Economy Minister
Toshimitsu Motegi are set to embark on two days of talks in Washington.
The first round of talks will likely focus on the scope of future
negotiations rather than specifics however.
“We will carefully watch both US-China and US-Japan talks without being
too optimistic,” Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told
AFP.
In Tokyo, blue-chip exporters were broadly higher, with Sony gaining 0.36
percent to 5,220 yen and Olympus up 2.64 percent at 1,242 yen.
Toyota rose 0.61 percent to 6,831 yen while Nissan gained 0.79 percent to
936.4 yen.
BSS/AFP/HR/1300