Tokyo’s Nikkei index closes nearly 3pc higher

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks surged Tuesday following another record high for the Dow on Wall Street, with exporters boosted by a cheaper yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.89 percent, or 1,066.55 points, to close at 37,963.97 yen, while the broader Topix index advanced 2.12 percent, or 54.15 points, to end at 2,612.03.

Monday was a public holiday in Japan, and over the long weekend “the US market kept up strong sentiment based on a sense of relief over prospects for the US economy”, IwaiCosmo Securities said.

“A weakening of the yen also supported” the market, the brokerage said.

A weaker currency helps exporters as it inflates their repatriated profits. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.3 percent at a new all-time record.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent, edging down from a record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.3 percent.