Japan News: Tokyo stocks gain more ground, lifted by Wall St. rises

Source: Japan News

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Stocks gained further ground on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday thanks to rises on Wall Street on Friday, lifting the benchmark Nikkei average to a three-week closing high.

The 225-issue Nikkei average added 260.85 points, or 1.19 percent, to end at 22,153.63, the first close above 22,000 since Feb. 19 and the best finish since Feb. 5. On Friday, it rose 156.34 points.

The TOPIX index of all first-section issues closed up 14.28 points, or 0.81 percent, at 1,774.81, after climbing 14.36 points the previous trading day.

The Nikkei opened above the psychologically important 22,000 threshold after the 30-issue Dow Jones industrial average rose over 300 points in New York on Friday. The key Tokyo stock yardstick briefly gained over 330 points soon after the opening.

The market remained strong in the afternoon, although its topside was somewhat weighed down by the yen’s rise against the dollar, brokers said.

Stocks attracted purchases on “the U.S. market’s stability” following its tumble earlier this month, Hideyuki Suzuki, head of investment market research at SBI Securities Co., said.

Ryuta Otsuka, strategist at the investment information department of Toyo Securities Co., said buybacks after the recent falls helped the Tokyo market advance.

Suzuki noted that some players took a wait-and-see mood prior to the first congressional testimony by new U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday.