Tuesday July 7, 8:24 pm Eastern Time
Tokyo stocks jump in early trade on tax cut hopes
TOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks jumped in early morning trade on Wednesday, supported by speculation the Japanese government might unveil permanent tax cuts before an Upper House election on Sunday, brokers said.
A mild rebound in the yen against the dollar also helped to encourage buying, they said.
In the first four minutes of trade, the key Nikkei 225 average climbed 174.23 points, or 1.06 percent, to 16,590.51. September Nikkei futures rose 120 points to 16,600.
Market participants are expected to pay close attention to a news conference by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto from 5.30 p.m. to 5.50 p.m. (0830-0850 GMT) in Nagoya.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said in an unsourced story on Wednesday that Hashimoto could announce permanent tax cuts at the news conference.
But brokers said the stock market's upside was likely to be limited, as profit-taking pressure was strong above 16,527 -- the level at which the Nikkei 225 average closed on March 31, the last day of the 1997/98 fiscal year. |
