TOKYO (AP) – Tokyo’s benchmark stock indexes rallied for a fifth straight session to near a one-month closing high Thursday, with investors buying Oji Paper and Sumitomo Metal Industries in a betthat signs of a fledgling rebound would boost corporate profits. The U.S. dollar edged up against the Japanese yen.
The late-afternoon stock-buying spree reversed an early sell-off by investors who were cashing in on the market’s recent gains.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 160.72 points, or 1.65 percent, to 9,913.47, closing above the 9,900-point mark for the first time since July 10, when the index finished at 9,958.62. The index on Wednesday rose 187.94 points, or 1.96 percent.
The dollar was trading at 119.32 yen on the Tokyo foreign exchange market at 5 p.m. Thursday, up 0.24 yen from late Wednesday and above the 119.10 yen it bought later in New York. It fluctuated between 119.14 yen and 119.41 yen in Tokyo on Thursday.
The Nikkei had declined at the open, after Wall Street’s overnight fall dampened the mood in Tokyo.
But traders cited strong demand from foreign investors in the afternoon, and credited this week’s announcement that Japan’s economic growth for the April-June quarter had surpassed expectations.
Thursday’s gains were led by Oji Paper and Mitsubishi Paper Mills, industrial giants Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries, construction firm Kajima Corp., and utility Tokyo Electric Power – companies that stand to benefit most from an end to the economic doldrums. Buying spilled over into the technology sector, lifting Advantest and Tokyo Electron among others, traders said.
Over the past five sessions, the Nikkei has added 647.91 points, or 6.99 percent.
Coming during the summer Buddhist holiday lull in trading, the stock market’s surge caught traders by surprise. Trading was active – an estimated 1.443 billion shares changed hands, up from 1.177 billion on Wednesday.
“It’s hard to believe that trading volume surged this much only with dealers and net traders. There must be active buying by foreign investors coming in,” said Masayoshi Okamoto, a Jujiya Securities dealer.
The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index closed up 14.18 points, or 1.49 percent, at 965.94. The TOPIX, which includes more than 1,000 of Japan’s largest companies, rose 17.17 points, or 1.84 percent, the previous day.
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s first, or main, section, 1,025 issues rose, 379 declined and 112 were unchanged from the day before.
U.S. stocks fell Wednesday as investors cashed in profits after recent blue chip gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 38.30, or 0.4 percent, to 9,271.76. The broader Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.40, or 0.02 percent, to 1,686.61.
The stock gains rattled bond investors. The benchmark 10-year bond yield shot up to 1.0550 percent – its highest level since July 16 – from 0.9300 late Wednesday. The 10-year bond’s price, which moves in the opposite direction of yield, plunged 1.12 to 99.51.
Traders blamed the bond sell-off on hedge funds, and said the funds switched investments into stock futures.
In currency trading, the dollar was stable against the yen in quiet trading during the summer holiday week, traders said.
The euro was higher both against the dollar and the yen in Tokyo. It bought US$1.1334 late Thursday, up from $1.1241 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the euro was quoted at 135.20 yen, up from 133.88 yen.
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