TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose 0.53 percent Tuesday morning as exporter shares got a boost from the weakening yen.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 82.40 points to 15,737.47 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.42 percent, or 5.28 points, to 1,264.22.
With few immediate trading cues, Tokyo's rise was largely driven by a gain in the dollar after an upbeat US manufacturing report boosted speculation the US Federal Reserve could taper its bond-buying programme more quickly.
The scheme has been credited with buoying global equity markets.
The greenback was buying 103.07 yen in Tokyo Tuesday, up from 102.94 yen in New York where the unit had surged to a six-month high of 103.13 yen.
A weaker yen is good for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and increases repatriated profits.
Sony was up 0.89 percent at 1,915 yen, Toyota rose 0.47 percent to 6,400 yen while Canon added 0.88 percent to 3,400 yen.
Investors are now looking to the release of US payrolls data on Friday for a handle on the state of the world's largest economy.
"Ahead of the release of the US jobs data, the dollar will unlikely surge further," Mitsushige Akino, fund manager at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, told Dow Jones Newswires.
"Regardless of the outcome, Friday's jobs data will offer a trading cue for the dollar and shares," he added.
US stocks Monday took a breather after a recent rally, slipping as some analysts cited profit-taking and speculation of tighter monetary policy
The Dow fell 0.48 percent and the S&P 500 dipped 0.27 percent -- after last week notching up new record highs.
The Nasdaq, which last week topped 4,000 for the first time in 13 years, lost 0.36 percent.
Comments
Comments are closed.