Tokyo Stocks Rise, Dollar Higher
08/08/2002 19:58:43 EST
TOKYO (AP) - Tokyo's main bourse rallied Friday, propelled by buying on the back of the dollar's rise against the yen and Wall Street's surge.
The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average climbed 66.66 points, or 0.68 percent, to 9,866.23 in the first half-hour of trading. The index fell 34.83 points, or 0.35 percent, to 9,799.57 Thursday.
The dollar bought 121.02 yen at 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), up 0.22 yen from late Thursday in Tokyo, but slightly below its late New York level of 121.03 yen.
On the stock market, the Nikkei's advance was led by blue chip technology shares following U.S. stock gains Thursday.
The yen's continued weakness also raised expectations that Japan's export-driven economy would stage a turnaround. The currency's slide tends to make Japanese exports cheaper and boosts the value of profits earned overseas.
On Wall Street, the market posted its third straight day of sharp gains, though analysts attributed it largely to technical factors rather than a turnaround in investor sentiment or business fundamentals. Some said, however, stocks were responding to expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further at next week's meeting or in September.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 255.87, or 3 percent, at 8,712.02 for its third triple-digit rise in a row. In three sessions, the Dow has netted 668.39 points - its best performance since gaining 558 points in the three sessions that ended March 27, 2001.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 35.62, or 2.8 percent, to 1,316.52.
The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the first section was up 8.97 points, or 0.93 percent, at 968.95 Friday morning. The TOPIX finished down 2.30 points, or 0.24 percent, at 959.98 Thursday.
In currency dealings, the dollar was strengthening against the yen, thanks to the U.S. stock market rise on Thursday. Hopes that the U.S. central bank will cut interest rates as early as next week - and that this will resuscitate the U.S. economy - continued to support the greenback.
Lower U.S. interest rates usually hurt the dollar because investors will earn lower returns on dollar-based assets. But many investors are betting that lower rates will give the struggling U.S. economy a chance to grow, boosting corporate profits and stock prices.
The euro was traded at 117.06 yen early Friday, down from 117.16 yen the previous day in Tokyo. Against the dollar, the euro was quoted at 96.68 cents, down from 97 cents.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond fell to 1.2700 percent, from 1.2750 percent the day before. Its price rose 0.05 point to 100.26. |
