TOKYO: Japanese stocks rose, led by retailers, with the Topix index capping its longest weekly winning streak in two years. Nintendo Co. fell after its shares surged by more than a third in two days.
The Topix Retail Traded Index gained 1 percent, the most among the 33 industry groups on the broader gauge, as Fast Retailing Co. added 3 percent. Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan’s biggest shipper, added 1.1 percent after the price of shipping commodities rose the most in two months. Yahoo Japan Corp. jumped 6.3 percent as it boosted its dividend. Nintendo sank 6.6 percent after surging 36 percent in the past two days.
The Topix rose 0.3 percent to close at 1,580.51, swinging from a loss of 0.4 percent, with almost two shares rising for each that fell. It capped a 1.3 percent gain this week, its ninth straight increase and best winning streak since February 2013. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.4 percent to 19,560.22 to close 1.6 percent higher this week. The yen traded at 120.71 per dollar after falling 0.6 percent yesterday.
“While shares look overbought, because of domestic buying from pension funds and the central bank, it’s hard to beat the market by selling shares,” said Naoki Fujiwara, Tokyo-based chief fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co., which oversees about $6 billion. “We’re still trying to understand what the FOMC meeting means. It’s still hard to read.”
