Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose Monday as export-oriented shares climbed due to a weaker yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 108.35 points, or 1.03 per cent, to close at 10,654.79, while the broader Topix index rose 8.16 points, or 0.90 per cent, to end the day at 915.75.
Monday is this year’s first trading day at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The market was closed Thursday and Friday for the New Year holidays. On currency market at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the dollar traded at 92.85-86, up from Wednesday’s 5 pm quote of 92.12-15 yen. The euro traded at 1.4300-4303 dollars, down from 1.4355-4358 dollars Wednesday, and at 132.78-81 yen, up from 132.24-28 yen.
Japan’s large manufacturers expected the dollar to average 91.16 yen for the latter half of the 2009 fiscal year ending March 2010, the Bank of Japan’s latest Tankan business sentiment survey released in December said. A weaker yen makes Japanese exporters’ products more competitive abroad and improves their overseas earnings when repatriated.
