MN: Nikkei climbs to 5-month high as economic data lift sentiment
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Nikkei stock index jumped 1.8 percent to a fresh five-month high on Thursday, bolstered by strong economic data that boosted confidence in the global economy and eased concern about the debt crisis in Europe.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average advanced 180.47 points, or 1.81 percent, from Wednesday to 10,168.52, its highest closing level since June 21. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 11.14 points, or 1.29 percent, to 877.21.
Investor sentiment was lifted by multiple factors -- the strong performance of overseas stock markets, robust economic data and the yen's retreat against the dollar and the euro, brokers said.
The global economic outlook brightened after the release of a better-than-expected U.S. private employment report and improved figures from the manufacturing sectors in China and Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 2.3 percent Wednesday.
"The biggest factor is that we saw improvement in yesterday's macroeconomic data. The ADP jobs report was good and there are expectations for Friday's nonfarm payrolls numbers," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Mizuho Securities Co. "In addition, there is speculation that that the European Central Bank may move to ease credit worries in Europe."
The ADP (Automatic Data Processing) National Employment Report, often seen as a pointer to the government's jobs report, showed the U.S. private sector added 93,000 jobs in November.
Export-linked shares traded higher, benefiting from the softer yen against the dollar and the euro. Among euro-sensitive shares, Canon climbed 100 yen, or 2.5 percent, to 4,050 yen, and Olympus gained 67 yen, or 2.9 percent, to 2,414 yen. Nikon surged 52 yen, or 3.2 percent, to 1,681 yen.
Shares of companies with close links to China were robust, with Komatsu up 108 yen, or 4.6 percent, to 2,444 yen and Hitachi Construction gaining 58 yen, or 3 percent, to 1,964 yen. Major semiconductor maker Advantest surged 92 yen, or 5.4 percent, to 1,791 yen.
"We've been seeing this bullish trend and to see whether it will continue from now, developments in Europe are worth paying attention to," said Masumi Yamamoto, market analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets Co.
The Nikkei has been on an uptrend after rising sharply in November, helped by the yen's weakening trend against the dollar. Technically, the next target in the near term is likely to be around 10,250, with eyes on the upcoming U.S. jobs report that will give clues regarding the health of the U.S. economy, brokers said.
Advancers outnumbered decliners 1,294 to 243, with 121 issues remaining unchanged.
Nearly all 33 sectors on the TSE rose, with the machinery sector leading gainers, followed by the securities, and glass and ceramics sectors. The electricity and gas, and air transport sectors were the only decliners.
Volume leader Mizuho Financial Group gained 2 yen, or 1.5 percent, to 135 yen.
Bucking the trend, Toyota Motor, the most traded stock in value terms, lost 20 yen, or 0.6 percent, to 3,290 yen, after data showed its U.S. car sales fell 3.3 percent in November from a year earlier.
Trading volume on the main section increased to 1,856.96 million shares, from Wednesday's 1,712.91 million.
The TSE's Second Section index rose 16.48 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,091.89 on a volume of 19.32 million shares. On the Osaka Securities Exchange, the near-term December Nikkei 225 index futures contract advanced 160 points to 10,160.
