© Reuters. An electronic screen displays data for Japan’s Nikkei index outside a brokerage office in Tokyo on July 28, 2023. Photograph: Kim Kyung-hoon – Reuters.
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese index rose on Monday, supported by the weakness of the yen and gains on Wall Street last weekend.
The Nikkei rose 0.54 percent to close at 36,354.16 points, with 167 stocks rising out of the total 225 stocks listed on it, while 56 fell and two remained stable.
As for the broader Topix index, it increased 0.67 percent.
Car manufacturing stocks have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the yen’s decline since Friday, when stronger-than-expected jobs data dampened expectations that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) would cut interest rates soon. A weaker currency supports the value of revenues generated abroad and makes products more competitive.
Shares of Toyota Motor rose 1.37 percent, Nissan rose 3.31 percent, and Honda rose 2.97 percent. Mazda Motor shares, which rely particularly on sales in the United States, jumped 4.13 percent.
The dollar rose to 148.82 yen on Monday for the first time since late November, supported by a jump in long-term yields to 4.1 percent.
Despite the jump in returns, Wall Street’s main indices rose to new closing levels on Friday.
The results announcement season gained momentum at the end of last week and will reach its peak in mid-February.
The financial results were the driver of the performance of some stocks on Monday, whether positive or negative, as Sumitomo Chemical’s stock fell by more than seven percent and was the most significant percentage loss on the Nikkei after the company lowered its profit expectations.
In contrast, Panasonic Holdings shares jumped 4.6 percent after announcing profit growth.
($148.3200 yen)
(Prepared by Marwa Gharib for the Arabic Bulletin)
2024-02-05 07:18:00
#Japans #Nikkei #index #rises #supported #weaker #yen #Reuters
