Nikkei Close Above 18,000 for First Time in 10 Months

The Nikkei stock index closed above the 18,000 threshold on Monday for the first time in more than 10 months as the continued weakening of the yen stoked hopes of improved profits abroad for Japanese exporters.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 138.61 points, or 0.77 percent, from Friday at 18,106.02, the highest since Jan. 6. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 14.47 points, or 1.01 percent, higher at 1,442.93.

Every industry category on the main section except the steel and nonferrous metal sectors gained ground, led by mining, real estate and export-linked electronics issues.

The Nikkei rose for the fourth straight session and the Topix gained for the eighth consecutive session, getting a lift from the yen’s fall to the weakest level in six months against the U.S. dollar.

Chihiro Ota, general manager of investment research at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., said that the yen’s drop offset weaker-than-expected Japanese trade data released in the morning.

via Mainichi

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza