Nikkei ends at 13-month high on optimism over U.S., Chinese economies

January 5, 2017

TOKYO- The Nikkei index rose to a 13-month high Wednesday, the first trading day of the year in Tokyo, as solid U.S. and Chinese economic data boosted investor sentiment. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 479.79 points, or 2.51 percent, from Friday at 19,594.16, its highest close since Dec. 7, 2015. Tokyo markets were closed Monday and Tuesday for the New Year holidays. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 35.87 points, or 2.36 percent, higher at 1,554.48. Every industry category on the main section gained ground, led by marine transportation, securities, and iron and steel issues. Tokyo stocks tracked gains in U.S. shares overnight as recent positive manufacturing-related data in the United States and China improved the outlooks for the countries' economies, brokers said. "Market players bought shares on the back of the solid data abroad," said Maki Sawada, vice president of the investment research and investor services department at Nomura Securities Co. The U.S. Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for December reached a two-year high of 54.7, while China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, released Sunday, stood at 51.4, topping the threshold of 50 separating expansion from contraction for the fifth month in a row. Chihiro Ota, general manager of investment research at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., said financial issues were lifted amid the continuing "Trump rally," referring to the positive market sentiment driven by expectations for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's economic and fiscal policies. The Japanese yen's depreciation against the U.S. dollar lifted export-related shares, the brokers said. On the First Section, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones 1,851 to 121, while 31 ended the day unchanged. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group surged 25.00 yen, or 3.5 percent, to 745.20 yen, Mizuho Financial Group gained 5.90 yen, or 2.8 percent, to 215.70 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbed 103 yen, or 2.3 percent, to 4,563 yen. Among export-linked automobile issues, Toyota Motor jumped 219 yen, or 3.2 percent, to 7,097 yen, Mazda Motor increased 63.50 yen, or 3.3 percent, to 1,975.50 yen, and Nissan Motor rose 26.00 yen, or 2.2 percent, to 1,201.50 yen. Key iPhone parts suppliers declined after the Nikkei business daily reported Apple Inc. will cut production of its popular smartphones by around 10 percent on year in the first quarter of 2017, brokers said. Alps Electric lost 23 yen, or 0.8 percent, to 2,803 yen. Trading volume on the main section totaled 2,375.73 million shares, sharply up from 1,667.86 million shares on Friday,Nishikori rallies to advance to Brisbane q'finalsBRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 4 Kyodo. (Su Xincheng, Kyodo News)