TOKYO: Japanese stocks rose for a second day, following a rally in U.S. equities amid mounting speculation the Federal Reserve will put off raising interest rates until 2016. Consumer lenders led gains.
The Topix Other Financing Business Index climbed 2.5 percent as all but one of the 33 industry groups on the broader gauge rose. Nintendo Co. gained 3.9 percent after joining with others to invest as much as $30 million to help game designer Niantic Inc. develop mobile games including Pokemon Go. FamilyMart Co. sank 4.7 percent after saying it’ll buy Uny Group Holdings Co. for about 171 billion yen ($1.4 billion) in stock to create Japan’s second-largest convenience store chain.
The Topix index added 1.2 percent to 1,508.62 as of 12:39 p.m. in Tokyo as about twice the number of shares rose as fell. Volume was about 7.9 percent below the 30-day intraday average as the measure heads for a 0.4 percent weekly loss. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1.3 percent to 18,322.47.
“The good thing is that the panic selling we saw until the end of September has receded and volatility has calmed down,” said Akio Yoshino, chief economist in Tokyo at Amundi Japan Ltd., which oversees about 3.74 trillion yen ($31 billion). “Also, the view that the Fed won’t raise rates this year is spreading, and the market is favoring that.”
