TOKYO, Dec 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday after
weekend data showed China’s November factory activity had rebounded for the
first time in seven months despite uncertainty over US-China trade talks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.43 percent, or 100.91 points, to
23,394.82 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.41 percent,
or 7.00 points, at 1,706.36.
“China’s manufacturing PMI surpassed the 50 mark — the boundary between
boom and bust — for the first time in seven months. That’s prompting buy
orders in the Japanese market,” Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at
Monex, said in a commentary.
The closely watched Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key gauge of
activity in the country’s factories, rose to 50.2 in November, up from 49.3
last month, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday.
The reading is slightly above the 50-point mark that signals growth or
contraction for the world’s second-largest economy.
The Japanese market has already factored in an element that dragged down
US shares — fears that US-China relations may worsen after President Donald
Trump signed into law a bill that voiced support for the pro-democracy
protests in Hong Kong, Kanayama said.
The dollar fetched 109.66 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.52 yen
late Friday in London.
Among major shares in Tokyo, game giant Nintendo was up 1.18 percent at
42,850 yen, Sony climbed 1.10 percent 6,980 yen and Toyota rose 1.01 percent
at 7,715 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended a holiday-shortened session on Friday down
0.4 percent at 28,051.41.