TOKYO: Tokyo stocks surged 0.84 percent on Friday trade after European and US markets rallied on the European Central Bank’s statement of a largest-than-expected stimulus programme.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 144.78 points to 17,473.80 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was up 0.74 percent, or 10.30 points, at 1,399.73.
“The value of the ECB’s monthly asset-purchase plan was higher than people anticipated,” Hitoshi Asaoka, a senior strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking, told Bloomberg News.
“The total value of purchases satisfied the market and stocks are naturally rising around the globe. The yen isn’t moving much, but we should see stocks rise with expectations for higher liquidity.”
The European Central Bank said on Thursday it would inject over 1.0 trillion euros ($1.15 trillion) into the stagnant eurozone economy.
The announcement of a 60 billion euros ($69 billion) per month in quantitative easing through September 2016 exceeded market expectations by 10 billion euros and boosted European stocks.
The move came after the region’s inflation turned negative in December, stoking fears that the 19-nation eurozone is on the brink of a dangerous deflationary spiral of falling prices, a situation blamed for weighing on Japan’s once-soaring economy.
Sony shares jumped 3.18 percent to 2,693.5 yen, Toyota rose 1.23 percent to 7,678.0 yen while Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing tacked on 1.27 percent to 42,805.0 yen.
On forex markets, the dollar was nearly flat at 118.47 yen from 118.52 yen in New York.
The euro — which slumped to an 11-year low of $1.1316 after the ECB announcement — was at $1.1366, against $1.1359 in New York late Thursday.
The single currency also inched up to 134.66 yen, against 134.63 yen in US trade.
Across the Atlantic, Wall Street’s top indices added 1.5 percent or more each, rising on a surge in bank and tech shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial average was up 1.48 percent, the broad-based S&P 500 1.53 percent and the Nasdaq Composite 1.78 percent.
