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Nikkei rises for 7th straight day on Wall St. gains, weaker yen(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Tokyo stocks finished higher Tuesday, with the Nikkei stock index extending its winning streak to a seventh trading day on buying bolstered by overnight gains in U.S. shares and a weaker yen trend. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 127.19 points, or 0.83 percent, from Monday at 15,449.79. The Nikkei's advance for the seventh straight day was its longest rally since it rose for nine consecutive trading days last December. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 9.03 points, or 0.71 percent, higher at 1,280.29. Stocks drew buying from the outset of the morning session, benefitting from overnight advances on Wall Street due to stronger-than-expected homebuilder confidence data for August. "The Tokyo market rose, reacting to the tone set in European and U.S. bourses, as there was not a sense of overheating," said Ayako Terada at Nomura Securities Co.'s investment research department. "A weaker yen trend also helped push the market higher," Terada added. The key indexes moved narrowly in the afternoon as investors wait until a sense of direction becomes clearer, with the summer holidays ending, said Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. Rising issues outnumbered falling ones by 1,172 to 485 on the First Section, while 160 closed unchanged. Export-oriented high-tech and automaker shares were generally in demand as the U.S. dollar stayed firm in the upper 102 yen zone. Air-conditioner maker Daikin Industries advanced 276 yen, or 4.2 percent, to 6,872 yen, Sony gained 36.50 yen, or 1.9 percent, to 1,913.50 yen and Hino Motors added 33 yen, or 2.3 percent, to 1,454 yen. Real estate was the day's best performing sector, with Mitsubishi Estate growing 59.50 yen, or 2.5 percent, to 2,460.50 yen and Mitsui Fudosan going up 68.50 yen, or 2.1 percent, to 3,338.50 yen. Other major gainers included warehousing, oil and coal products as well as utility shares. Skymark Airlines soared 50 yen, or 27.8 percent, to 230 yen in response to a Nikkei business daily report that Malaysian-based low-cost carrier AirAsia is considering options for aid to Japan's struggling third-largest domestic carrier. Softbank expanded 142 yen, or 2.0 percent, to 7,185 yen after the Japanese communications giant unveiled the previous day a new smartphone co-developed with its U.S. subsidiary Sprint Corp. for sale in both Japan and the United States. Bucking the trend, Don Quijote Holdings dropped 210 yen, or 3.7 percent, to 5,510 yen, a day after the discount store operator released a smaller-than-expected consolidated net profit outlook in the business year through June 2015. Trading volume on the main section increased to 1,797.53 million shares from Monday's 1,552.42 million shares. (c) 2014 Kyodo News |