TOKYO: Japanese stocks rose as the yen fell for a third day and investors weighed an interest-rate cut by China amid signs the world’s second-biggest economy is weakening.
Tokyo Disney Resort operator Oriental Land Co. gained 4.6 percent as the Topix Services Index rose the most among the 33 industry groups on the gauge. Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. added 2.8 percent after a report one of its units plans to buy German data center operator e-shelter GmbH & Co. for about 100 billion yen ($834 million). Taisei Corp. sank 3.7 percent after the construction company said it is seeking to raise about 20 billion yen by selling shares.
The Topix index added 0.2 percent to 1,527.43 as of 12:49 p.m. in Tokyo, with almost five shares rising for every three that fell. The gauge gained 1.6 percent last week to cap a 7.7 percent jump in February, the most since September 2013. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 0.2 percent to 18,835.23. The yen fell 0.2 percent to 119.84 per dollar.
“Investors will be trying to figure out the effects of the Chinese rate cuts today,” Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo, said by phone. “China has been taking easing measures every month, so there’s a possibility that the cut’s positive effects will be limited. The yen is weaker compared to the end of last week, and the Nikkei 225 may try reaching above 19,000 today.”
A Chinese purchasing managers’ index released on Sunday signaled contraction in factory output again in February, a day after the central bank stepped up support for the economy with its second cut to benchmark interest rates in three months.
