Tokyo stocks close higher on weaker yen

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended higher on Thursday as a weak yen boosted Japanese exporters and the operator of the Tokyo Disneyland complex surged on a report it was expanding its attractions.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.57 percent, or 127.76 points, to close at 22,724.96, while the broader Topix index rose 0.33 percent, or 5.93 points, to 1,792.08.

"The Nikkei index has reached the 22,000 yen level but I think Japanese shares are still undervalued," Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities, said in a commentary.

"There is a risk that stocks will widely fluctuate, but I think it's worth investing in a long term."

The dollar fetched 112.10 yen in Asian trade, up from 111.97 in New York and much stronger than the 111.54 yen seen in Tokyo earlier Wednesday.

A weaker yen is a positive for Japanese exporters as it makes their products more competitive abroad and inflates their repatriated profits.

In Tokyo share trading, Uniqlo chain operator Fast Retailing jumped 2.86 percent to 43,510 yen while Honda was up 0.61 percent at 3,744 yen.

Oriental Land, the operator of Tokyo Disneyland, surged 3.58 percent to 9,991 yen after local media reported it will invest more than 300 billion yen ($2.7 billion) to expand the resort with new attractions that will open by 2023.

The Japanese company is planning to build attractions that are not featured at other Disney theme parks, while considering an attraction dedicated to Disney's hit movie "Frozen", according to the Nikkei business daily.

Sony dropped 2.27 percent to 5,201 yen, while Panasonic was down 1.30 percent to 1,668 yen.