Tokyo shares end at fresh 8-month high

FE Team | Published: September 12, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

TOKYO, Sept 11 (AFP): Tokyo stocks rose 0.76 per cent to an eight-month high Thursday, while the dollar broke above 107 yen for the first time since late 2008, lifting exporters.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 120.42 points to finish at 15,909.20, its best close since early January, while the Topix index of all first-section shares added 0.34 per cent, or 4.45 points, to 1,311.24.
Nikkei-listed stocks are still relatively cheap and the headline index could rise further as it plays catch-up with its international peers, said SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi.
"With continued dollar support, the exporter-heavy Nikkei could very well see more buying to bring it more in line with its peers," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
In afternoon Tokyo trade the dollar briefly topped 107 yen, its highest since September 2008 during the financial crisis.
The surge came as Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told Prime Minister Shinzo Abe he would widen its monetary base if necessary as it looks to achieve 2.0 per cent inflation by next year. The target is a key part of Tokyo's plans to kickstart the economy.
"If we face difficulty achieving the goal, we would adjust monetary policy without hesitation, even if it takes the form of additional easing or anything else," Kuroda told reporters in Tokyo.
The central bank last week held off further stimulus despite a sharp contraction in the world's number three economy in April-June, although there is growing expectation it will act at its next meeting in October.
Such a move tends to weaken the yen and boost Japanese shares as a cheaper currency inflates exporters' profitability.
Sony rose 2.73 per cent to 2,104.5 yen after US media giant Viacom said it had agreed to provide nearly two dozen of its networks, including Comedy Central and MTV, for the Japanese firm's upcoming online television service.