Japan shares up 1.37pc on US gains, Japan GDP

TOKYO: Tokyo shares rose 1.37 percent on Monday, following gains on Wall Street late last week and the release of better-than-expected Japanese GDP figures.

The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 122.69 points to 9,086.41. The Topix index of all first section shares gained 1.16 percent, or 8.93 points, to 777.12.

Investors were relieved by a rise in US stocks Friday, said Daiwa Securities general manager Kazuhiro Takahashi. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.13 percent that day, the S&P 500 0.53 percent and the Nasdaq 0.61 percent.

Tokyo sentiment improved further after Japan's government said the economy had shrunk an annualised 1.3 percent in the April-June quarter -- significantly better than market predictions of a 2.7-percent fall.

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Japan should return to growth in the July-September quarter, a view echoed by many private economists.

But officials and economists warned that a strong yen could weigh on future growth by hurting Japanese exporters.

The dollar stood at 76.89 yen, nearly unchanged from 76.78 in New York Friday. The euro traded at $1.4326 and 110.14 yen, up from $1.4250 and 109.27 yen in New York.

Investors have also stayed focused after last week's global market turmoil on the threat of a double-dip recession in the United States and the continued debt crisis in Europe.

"It looks like the US stock market has hit bottom, but the fundamental problems (both in the US and in Europe) have not been resolved yet," Kenichi Hirano, an operating officer at Tachibana Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Investors were awaiting the release this week of US data, including housing starts, production, consumer prices, and existing home sales.

A wide range of shares gained in Tokyo.

Sony added 3.93 percent to 1,694. Toyota Motor rose 2.91 percent to 2,901. Supermarket operator Aeon gained 2.56 percent to 960.

But mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo dropped 0.57 percent to 800.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011