Tokyo stocks rose on the morning of July 10, following a strong lead from Wall Street after a better-than-expected jobs report, while a weak yen boosted exporters / AFP PHOTO / Toshifumi KITAMURA
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks rose Monday morning, following a strong lead from Wall Street after a better-than-expected jobs report, while a weak yen boosted exporters.
New York rallied Friday after government data showed that the US economy generated 222,000 jobs last month, far above market expectations.
“Although the announcement was made on Friday, the positive energy remained strong enough to sustain the market today,” said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.68 percent, or 135.96 points, to 20,065.05 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.48 percent, or 7.65 points, at 1,614.71.
The dollar advanced against the euro and other major currencies following the US jobs report, which was seen as good enough to keep the Federal Reserve on track to further raise interest rates. Fed chair Janet Yellen will appear on Wednesday in her twice-annual testimony to Congress.
“This week’s focus is Yellen’s testimony,” Horiuchi told AFP.
The dollar traded at 114.17 yen in Asia against 113.91 yen in New York and 113.73 yen in Tokyo earlier Friday.
A weak yen is positive for Tokyo stocks as it inflates exporters’ profits when repatriated.
Sony jumped 1.93 percent to 4,327 yen while Panasonic advanced 2.21 percent to 1,497 yen.
Toyota rose 0.61 percent to 6,195 yen and Nissan gained 0.34 percent to 1,150.5 yen.
Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, rose 1.43 percent to 37,350 yen, while telecoms giant SoftBank edged up 0.03 percent to 8,937 yen.
© Agence France-Presse