TOKYO: Japanese stocks fluctuated amid low trading volumes as paper makers and agriculture companies advanced, while brokerages declined.
Nippon Paper Industries Co. climbed 1.7 percent and Sakata Seed Corp. gained 2.9 percent. Nexon Co. rose 7.5 percent as Nomura Holdings Inc. advised buying the gamemaker’s shares. SBI Holdings Inc. led brokerages lower, falling 1.9 percent. Kohnan Shoji Co. retreated 1.3 percent as operating profit at the home-improvement chain fell.
The Topix index added 0.2 percent to 1,588.66 at 12:35 p.m. in Tokyo, swinging from a loss of 0.2 percent. Trading volume was 17 percent below the 30-day average for the time of day. The gauge jumped 13 percent this year through yesterday. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.1 percent to 19,885.93. The measure briefly traded above 20,000 on Friday for the first time in 15 years. The yen traded at 119.88 per dollar, strengthening for a third day.
“There’s still a bid in the market in Japan because there’s enough support to keep stocks rallying,” said Toby Lawson, Sydney-based managing director at Societe Generale SA, referencing the Bank of Japan’s monetary easing policy and pension funds buying shares. “At this point, there is no sense it’s about to collapse.”
