Japanese shares jumped Friday morning as market sentiment was buoyed by the yen’s fall against major currencies and the expected acceptance by most of Greece’s private investors of a debt swap.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 150.73 points, or 1.54 per cent, to trade at 9,919.69 at the end of the morning session at 11:30 am (0230 GMT).
The broader Topix index was up 11.31 points, or 1.35 per cent, at 847.47.
A Greek Finance Ministry official told dpa late Thursday that the takeup on the offer by banks, pension funds and other investors holding 206 billion euros in bonds had hit 75 per cent. The formal list will be released at 0600 GMT Friday.
Exporters rose strongly as the yen fell, standing in the upper—81 yen to the dollar. A weaker yen makes Japanese goods less expensive overseas and improves repatriated revenues.
Shares in Sony Corp surged 4.07 per cent, Toyota Motor Corp gained 2.1 per cent and construction machinery maker Komatsu Ltd was up 1.2 per cent.
On currency markets at 11:30 am, the dollar traded at 81.73—78 yen, up from Thursday’s 5 pm quote of 81.32—33 yen.
The euro was quoted at 108.45—50 yen, up from 107.16—20 yen late Thursday, and at 1.3268—3273 dollars, up from 1.3136—3137 dollars.
