Gottfried, some "early" good news, Stan.Tokyo stocks jump on Japan, U.S. data
Asian markets mostly higher after mixed Wall St. session
By Osamu Tsukimori & Shusaku Hattori,
Last Update: 10:12 PM ET Feb. 29, 2004
TOKYO (CBS.MW) - Tokyo stocks surged by midday trade Monday, with the Nikkei Average jumping 2.5 percent to a 20-month high on a weaker yen and strong economic data from both Japan and the United States.
The Nikkei gained 271 points to 11,313.10 -- its highest level since June 13, 2002. The broader Topix added 22 points, or 2.1 percent, to 1,105.44.
"Foreign investors' buying has increased, which probably is one key factor for the rise of the Nikkei index," said Masatoshi Sato, senior strategist at Mizuho Securities. "Investors are buying because the strong trend of GDP growth seems to be continuing in Japan from the last quarter with industrial output and household spending rising in January."
Last Friday, the Japanese government released data showing that industrial output rose 3.4 percent in January from the previous month - beating economists' consensus forecast for 2.8 percent growth. Also, household spending also rose 3.4 percent in January from a year earlier, government data showed. . Read full report.
In the U.S., the government unexpectedly revised upward economic growth to a 4.1 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter from the original 4.0 percent estimate a month earlier.
Meanwhile, the dollar traded at 109.27 yen in Tokyo, up from 109.15 yen in late Friday New York trade.
Most other Asia markets were higher. Taiwan's Weighted Average rose 1.6 percent to 6,860.80, Australia's All Ordinaries index added 0.4 percent to 3,386.9, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.7 percent to 14,001.05, and Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.8 percent to 1,903.35. But China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.2 percent to 1,671.
South Korean markets were closed for Independence Movement Day.
In Japan, stocks gained across the board.
Cyclical issues rallied as they benefit most from an economic uptick. Retailer Ito-Yokado (IYCOF: news, chart, profile) rose 3.4 percent to 4,260 yen. Real-estate firm Mitsubishi Estate (MITEF: news, chart, profile) soared 5.4 percent to 1,341 yen.
In the tech sector, Hitachi (HIT: news, chart, profile) surged 3.1 percent to 735 yen, Canon (CAJ: news, chart, profile) rose 2.4 percent to 5,460 yen, Sony (SNE: news, chart, profile) rose 1.6 percent to 4,530 yen and Matsushita Electric Industrial (MC: news, chart, profile) added 1.3 percent to 1,614 yen. But Fujitsu (FJTSY: news, chart, profile) declined 2.6 percent to 641 yen.
Communications issues rose. Telephone giant NTT (NTT: news, chart, profile) rose 1.8 percent to 515,000 yen and NTT DoCoMo (DCM: news, chart, profile) gained 0.9 percent to 229,000 yen.
Chip stocks also advanced. Memory chip equipment maker Advantest (ADTTF: news, chart, profile) rose 2.8 percent to 8,360 yen, while rival Tokyo Electron (TOELF: news, chart, profile) surged 3.3percent to 6,810 yen.
The auto sector was firm. Toyota (TM: news, chart, profile) rose 2.1 percent to 3,850 yen and Nissan (NSANY: news, chart, profile) advanced 0.4 percent to 1,218 yen, and Honda (HMC: news, chart, profile) added 0.2 percent to 4,770 yen.
Banking issues were also higher. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFNF: news, chart, profile) soared 2.3 percent to 622,000 yen, Mizuho Financial Group (MZHOF: news, chart, profile) added 2.1 percent to 336,000 yen and Mitsubishi Financial Group (MTF: news, chart, profile) rose 1 percent to 848,000 yen.
Meanwhile, no significant progress came out of the six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program that ended over the weekend. However, the U.S., China, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas said they agreed to hold another round of talks by June.
In the U.S. Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat, while the Nasdaq Composite eased 0.1 percent.
Osamu Tsukimori is a reporter for CBS MarketWatch.com based in Tokyo. |
