TOKYO: Japanese shares rose as Greece submitted a bailout proposal similar to that mooted by creditors and Chinese markets rebounded for a second day.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s biggest lender, gained 3.5 percent as banks, property developers and telephone stocks led gains among the 33 Topix industry groups. Fast Retailing Co. tumbled 6.1 percent, the biggest drag on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, after its chief financial officer said cool summer temperatures in Japan and wider losses at Uniqlo’s U.S. stores may weigh on its performance.
The Topix added 1.4 percent to 1,601.27 as of 12:40 p.m. in Tokyo, paring its biggest weekly loss in seven months to 3.1 percent. About twice as many shares rose as fell on the gauge. The Nikkei 225 climbed 0.5 percent to 19,963.29.
“China is forcibly calming the market down, and its working, but how they’re doing it is scary,” said Tomomi Yamashita, a fund manager in Tokyo at Shinkin Asset Management Co. “Things look better in Greece and ordinarily the market would surge on that, but it hasn’t because of lingering concerns over China.”
The yen weakened 0.5 percent to 121.93 per dollar after yesterday declining 0.5 percent from its strongest level in seven weeks as demand dropped for haven assets after China stocks rebounded. About $3.9 trillion was wiped from the value of the country’s equity market from June 12 through Wednesday, with losses at the start of the week igniting a wave of risk aversion.
