Tokyo---Tokyo stocks rose 0.89 percent Monday, tracking a positive lead from Wall Street, as higher oil prices lifted confidence while investors hoped the European Central Bank will announce fresh stimulus this week.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 150.13 points to 17,014.29, while the Topix index of all first-section shares added 0.64 percent, or 8.68 points, to 1,372.41.
US shares jumped Friday as oil prices rebounded, snapping a five-day losing streak that had left the equity market looking oversold.
But investors cast a wary eye on China, where the benchmark stock index plunged about seven percent after regulators cracked down on rule violations for margin trading, which has helped fuel an extended rally. Hong Kong was also down in the afternoon.
"The main driver for Japan is the gains in overseas markets, which were all up barring Switzerland," Andrew Clarke, director of trading at Mirabaud Securities Asia in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg News.
"So at the start we had bargain hunting and short cover pushing the index higher. But as China and Hong Kong have opened the buying has eased off... as investors watch China and Hong Kong plummet."
Tokyo investors also looking ahead to the ECB's policy meeting on Thursday after Switzerland's decision to remove its currency cap with the euro, while expectations are high for a new round of stimulus.
Last week, the yen soared as other currencies plunged against the Swiss franc. A strong yen is negative for Japanese exporters and drags down the Tokyo bourse.
The Swiss National Bank announced on Thursday it was abandoning the minimum rate of 1.20 francs against the euro, a ceiling it had imposed three years ago during the eurozone debt crisis.
In Tokyo share trading Monday, Sony jumped 2.49 percent to close at 2,443.5 yen, Canon rose 0.79 percent to 3,787.5 yen, while energy giant Inpex added 2.34 percent to 1,264.5 yen.
Sharp, however, tumbled 8.73 percent to 230.0 yen after the leading Nikkei business daily said the electronics maker would lose money in its fiscal year through March due to a slump in its television business.
In forex markets, the dollar fetched 117.15 yen, edging down from 117.46 yen in New York on Friday.
AFP
