Stocks rise further on US gains

February 19, 2018

Tokyo- Stocks continued to surge on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday, with investors encouraged to see the US Dow Jones industrial average extend its winning streak to a sixth session last Friday.

The 225-issue Nikkei average climbed 428.96 points, or 1.97 percent, to end at 22,149.21, rising above 22,000 on a closing basis for the first time since Feb. 5.On Friday, the key market gauge rose 255.27 points.

The TOPIX index of all first-section issues was up 37.78 points, or 2.17 percent, at 1,775.15, after advancing 18.10 points the previous trading day.

Both indexes finished higher for the third consecutive market day.

A wide range of issues attracted buying from the outset, although trading was thin as the U.S. market is closed on Monday due to a public holiday and the presence of foreign investors in the Tokyo market was therefore limited, brokers said.

Market players also seemed to have taken heart from a pause in the yen's strengthening against the dollar, they said.

Individual investors showed appetite for small- and mid-cap stocks, while some large-cap issues attracted buying on dips, market sources said.

"A sense of relief spread among investors after last week's robust performances of US equities," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co.

In addition, market players moved for buying as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a measure of Wall Street traders' expectations for future market instability and known as a "fear gauge" for the stock market, is "staying calm," Ichikawa said.

Meanwhile, an official of a bank-affiliated securities firm noted that the Tokyo market is staging a technical rebound amid the absence of foreign players, who had recently been main sellers. Individual investors apparently hurried to buy stocks "while the cat is away," the official added.

"Foreign exchange rates are still unstable," Ichikawa said. Besides developments on Wall Street, "exchange rate movements will be a major focal point this week" for the Tokyo market's performance, he said.

Rising issues far outnumbered falling ones 2,002 to 56 on the TSE's first section, while seen issues were unchanged.

Volume fell to 1,290 million shares from Friday's 1,428 million shares. Jiji Press