Tokyo stocks surge as Japan election stokes stimulus hopes

AFP, TOKYO:  Tokyo stocks soared yesterday as a landslide victory for Japan’s ruling coalition in weekend elections boosted stimulus hopes, while Nintendo rocketed as gamers snapped up its new smartphone offering.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index surged 3.98 per cent, or 601.84 points, to finish at 15,708.82, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 3.79 per cent, or 45.91 points, to 1,255.79, its biggest one-day gain in nearly five months.
The parliamentary election sweep by Japan’s ruling coalition fanned speculation that the government would soon launch a stimulus package to kickstart growth, after winning a strong mandate.
“Investors are basically welcoming the victory of (Prime Minister Shinzo) Abe’s ruling coalition,” Daisuke Uno, chief market strategist of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, told AFP.
“But the question is whether or not stock prices can keep up this pace.”
Abe said Monday he will order his economy minister to draft fresh stimulus measures, the size of which could reach 20 trillion yen ($196 billion), Japanese media said.
Market sentiment got a lift as the US Labor Department said Friday that 287,000 jobs were created in June, 112,000 more than expected and a sharp improvement on weak figures in May that raised fears of a potential recession.
On Monday, Nintendo was a stand-out, rocketing more than 20 per cent and extending a rally sparked by news that its Pokemon GO—which connects a user’s real-world location to the game as they try to catch on-screen characters—debuted at the top of gaming charts.
By the close, the videogame giant had jumped 24.52 per cent to 20,260 yen, after a nearly nine per cent rally on Friday.
The new title comes after the Super Mario maker released Miitomo, its first-ever mobile game, in March, as it moved away from a longstanding—and much criticised—consoles-only policy. Earlier Monday, Japan-based messaging app Line said it could raise more than $1.0 billion in one of the year’s biggest share sales, as it makes its market debut this week.
Line, owned by South Korea’s Naver, starts trading in New York on Thursday and in Tokyo Friday.
Exporters won support Monday as Japan’s currency sharply weakened, which is good for their profitability.
On forex markets, the dollar jumped to 101.70 yen from 100.47 yen in the US on Friday.
In response, Toyota surged 4.86 per cent to 5,301 yen while Nissan climbed 5.23 per cent to close at 967 yen. Honda jumped 4.03 per cent to 2,576 yen.

Tokyo stocks surge as Japan election stokes stimulus hopes

AFP, TOKYO: Tokyo stocks soared yesterday as a landslide victory for Japans ruling coalition in weekend elections boosted stimulus hopes, while Nintendo rocketed as gamers snapped up its new smartphone offering. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index surged 3.98 per cent, or 601.84 points, to finish at 15,708.82, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 3.79 per cent, or 45.91 points, to 1,255.79, its biggest one-day gain in nearly five months. The parliamentary election sweep by Japans ruling coalition fanned speculation that the government would soon launch a stimulus package to kickstart growth, after winning a strong mandate. Investors are basically welcoming the victory of (Prime Minister Shinzo) Abes ruling coalition, Daisuke Uno, chief market strategist of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, told AFP. But the question is whether or not stock prices can keep up this pace. Abe said Monday he will order his economy minister to draft fresh stimulus measures, the size of which could reach 20 trillion yen ($196 billion), Japanese media said. Market sentiment got a lift as the US Labor Department said Friday that 287,000 jobs were created in June, 112,000 more than expected and a sharp improvement on weak figures in May that raised fears of a potential recession. On Monday, Nintendo was a stand-out, rocketing more than 20 per cent and extending a rally sparked by news that its Pokemon GOwhich connects a users real-world location to the game as they try to catch on-screen charactersdebuted at the top of gaming charts. By the close, the videogame giant had jumped 24.52 per cent to 20,260 yen, after a nearly nine per cent rally on Friday. The new title comes after the Super Mario maker released Miitomo, its first-ever mobile game, in March, as it moved away from a longstandingand much criticisedconsoles-only policy. Earlier Monday, Japan-based messaging app Line said it could raise more than $1.0 billion in one of the years biggest share sales, as it makes its market debut this week. Line, owned by South Koreas Naver, starts trading in New York on Thursday and in Tokyo Friday. Exporters won support Monday as Japans currency sharply weakened, which is good for their profitability. On forex markets, the dollar jumped to 101.70 yen from 100.47 yen in the US on Friday. In response, Toyota surged 4.86 per cent to 5,301 yen while Nissan climbed 5.23 per cent to close at 967 yen. Honda jumped 4.03 per cent to 2,576 yen.