Tokyo stocks close up on weak yen

Tokyo stocks closed higher Thursday with exporters buoyed by a sharp drop in the yen and following a record close on Wall Street.

Returning from a public holiday, Tokyo traders picked up a positive lead from New York where the Dow and S&P 500 finished at record levels for the third straight session.

The dollar’s surge past 112 yen on Wednesday in US trading was driven by growing expectations that higher fiscal spending under Donald Trump’s administration will lead to further US interest rate hikes.

Upbeat data on US durable goods orders released Wednesday also fuelled anticipation for higher borrowing costs.

“Expectations for new economic policies from Trump are strong and when on top of this comes a piece of positive data, investors will be inclined to make a move,” Mitsushige Akino, an executive officer at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co, told Bloomberg News.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.94 percent, or 170.47 points, to close at 18,333.41, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues gained 0.86 percent, or 12.46 points, to 1,459.96.

Toyota jumped 4.78 percent to 6,588 yen, Honda surged 3.93 percent to 3,278 yen, while tyre maker Bridgestone climbed 2.10 percent to 4,314 yen.

Market heavyweight Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain, rose 3.39 percent to 41,730 yen.

Film distributor Tokyo Theatres skyrocketed 15.93 percent to 211 yen on the blockbuster domestic box office success of its animated film “In This Corner of the World”. At one point the stock was 77 percent up from its Friday close.

In currency markets, the dollar fetched 112.81 yen, up from 112.48 yen in New York late Wednesday.