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Tokyo stocks rally on weak yen
TOKYO, July 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks rose for a third straight
session on Tuesday, backed by gains on Wall Street and the yen’s downwards
trend, as concerns over a US-China trade war receded.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.66 percent or 144.71 points to close
at 22,196.89 while the broader Topix index was up 0.25 percent or 4.34 points
at 1,716.13.
“On the back of a weak yen, many exporters are steady, while the banking
sector also is on course to recovery,” said Hikaru Sato, senior technical
analyst at Daiwa Securities.
“Sentiment revived, with concerns over US-China trade friction fading for
now,” Sato told AFP.
Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a client
note: “Japanese stocks will test higher prices with sentiment buoyed by rises
in US stocks and the yen’s downtrend.”
Wall Street stocks rose solidly for a third straight session on Monday,
with beaten-down banking shares gaining as investors again brushed aside
trade war worries.
The dollar was trading at 111.15 yen against 110.82 yen in New York Monday
afternoon.
Investors were focusing on economic fundamentals in the absence of fresh
news on US trade frictions with China.
“I want to underscore that you cannot conclude now that the global economy
will lose steam as the trade war escalates,” said Masayuki Kubota, chief
strategist at Rakuten Securities.
“There are some issues that deserve buying among stocks in the
semiconductor or automobile industry or those related to China that had faced
too much selling,” he said in a client note.
In individual stocks trade, shares in Japanese energy giant Idemitsu Kosan
shot up Tuesday following news it is merging with smaller rival Showa Shell
Sekiyu.
The stock of Idemitsu surged 12.59 percent to 4,290 yen and Showa Shell
also jumped 9.64 percent to 1,682 yen.
The companies announced they would integrate operations in April next year
to create Japan’s second largest oil wholesale group.
SoftBank Group jumped 2.09 percent to 8,758 yen after it announced its
filing with the Tokyo bourse for the listing of its mobile unit, aiming to
raise more than $20 billion.
Nissan rallied 3.78 percent to 1,041.5 yen, making up most of the ground
it lost Monday after releasing a statement on emissions issues.
After the market closed, the automaker admitted that data on exhaust
emissions and fuel economy had been deliberately “altered”.
But the alterations affected fewer than 1,200 cars, the automaker said.
Sony gained 0.22 percent to 5,705 yen and Panasonic edged up 0.03 percent
to 1,404 yen.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1450 hrs