TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose 0.19 percent by the break on Monday after the yen weakened against the dollar in response to a strong US jobs report.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 33.03 points to 17,681.53 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.25 percent, or 3.48 points, at 1,420.67.
“The short-term momentum in US employment was stronger than we expected,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities.
“With the spike in US two-year note yields spurring yen weakness, that backdrop should serve as a catalyst for gains in Japanese stocks,” he told Bloomberg News.
The strong US jobs report fuelled speculation that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in the middle of the year.
The dollar was at 118.74 yen in midday trade on Monday, down from 119.00 yen in New York Friday afternoon but still sharply up from 117.33 yen in Tokyo earlier Friday.
A weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it increases their profits when repatriated.
The benchmark Nikkei opened 0.80 percent higher on the weak yen but gave up some of early gains in the absence of follow-through buying.
Toyota rose 0.20 percent to 7,639.0 yen while Canon added 0.24 percent to 3,725.0 yen.
Sony fell 2.31 percent to 3,066.0 yen after rising to near five-year highs last week on an improved earnings outlook.
