TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose 1.08 percent Thursday, boosted by a weaimageker yen and another rally on Wall Street, as the Federal Reserve remained upbeat on the US economy.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 219.92 points to 20,522.83 while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.81 percent, or 13.27 points, to 1,647.21.
Exporters were boosted as the dollar rose to 124.19 yen from 123.91 yen in New York, while traders were cheered by a second successive advance in US stocks. The Dow closed 0.69 percent higher Wednesday while and the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.73 percent.
Fed policymakers said the world’s top economy had expanded “moderately” in recent months and the jobs market strengthened, although it also noted some weakness in business investment and exports.
They gave no fresh clues about when they will raise interest rates, widely expected by the end of the year.
The Fed statement “was as envisioned”, Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, told Bloomberg News.
“So long as the US economy keeps growing moderately, markets will trade with the expectations of higher interest rates. That they see the US economy gradually expanding will be of comfort” to investors, he said.
