Micron Associates
Japanese shares rose, after the Topix (TPX) index last week posted its fourth straight monthly loss, as a weaker yen boosted carmakers and data signaled a recovery in domestic capital spending and Chinese manufacturing.
Toyota Motor Corp., Asia’s biggest automaker, gained 1 percent. Fanuc Corp., a producer of industrial robotics that counts on Asia excluding Japan for half its revenue, climbed 2.7 percent after a gauge of China’s factory activity increased to a 16-month high. Consumer-finance company Aiful Corp. surged 18 percent on a report non-bank lending is recovering. Otsuka Holdings Co. slid 2.4 percent after Citigroup Inc. cut its investment outlook on the drugmaker.
The Topix added 1.1 percent to 1,117.78 at the close of trading in Tokyo, with all but four of the 33 industry groups advancing. The measure fell 2.3 percent in August, capping its longest monthly losing streak since November 2008. The Nikkei 225 increased 1.4 percent today to 13,572.92. Japan’s currency weakened 0.8 percent to 98.93 against the greenback.
“The yen at the 98-per-dollar level today is positive for stocks,” said Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co., which oversees about 11.2 trillion yen ($113 billion). “China’s PMI is also being taken positively, although whether it can last is questionable. Capital-spending data is supportive for an increase in Japan’s economic growth outlook, so that’s also a plus.”