Tokyo stocks post best finish in 7 months

Posted 8:48AM on Thursday 7th March 2002 ( 23 years ago )

TOKYO - Buoyed by rising technology and financial issues, Tokyo's blue-chip stock index surged Thursday to its highest finish in seven months amid forecasts that the U.S. economy may be on the path to recovery. The U.S. dollar was lower against the yen. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 289.81 points, or 2.55 percent, to close at 11,648.34. It was the Nikkei's highest closing level since Aug. 15, when the index ended at 11,755.40. On Wednesday, the average finished up 10.08 points, or 0.08 percent. The dollar bought 129.88 yen at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), down 1.98 yen from late Wednesday in Tokyo and also below its late level in New York at 130.88 yen overnight. On the stock market, technology issues, including Sony and Nippon Telegraph & Telephone, led the rally as investors welcomed Wall Street's overnight gains. Growing evidence of a U.S. rebound has made traders in Tokyo increasingly sanguine about Japan's chances for growth. The United States is Japan's biggest trading partner and many Japanese companies rely on exports to the U.S. market. In New York, U.S. stocks finished sharply higher on Wednesday after a U.S. Commerce Department report showed orders to U.S. factories rose by 1.6 percent in January, lifted by stronger demand for cars, computers and machinery. The news was the latest indication that the United States is emerging from recession. Last week, the market got a handful of similarly upbeat reports. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 140.88 to 10,574.29 at Wednesday's close. The Nasdaq composite index closed at 1,890.40, up 24.11. The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the first section finished up 24.97 points, or 2.32 percent, to 1,098.33 on Thursday. The TOPIX closed down 1.95 points, or 0.18 percent, the day before. On the exchange's first section, advancers outnumbered decliners 942 to 437, and 126 issues ended unchanged from Wednesday. In currency dealings, the dollar slid despite encouraging U.S. economic data because traders continued to unwind their overbought dollar positions, analysts said. Also supporting the yen was recent firmness on the Tokyo stock market, they said. In other currencies, the euro was traded at 113.97 yen, down from 114.83 yen late Wednesday in Tokyo. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond fell to 1.4550 percent from Wednesday's finish of 1.4650 percent. Its price rose 0.09 point to 100.39.

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