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Tokyo / AFP
Tokyo stocks closed higher on Monday on a weaker yen after the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve talked up the US economy while the Bank of Japan’s boss indicated there could be fresh easing measures next month.
In the US, Stanley Fischer on Sunday said the world’s top economy had met the bank’s targets and that growth would pick up.
His comments come ahead of a key speech by Fed chief Janet Yellen scheduled for Friday, and have fuelled speculation that borrowing costs could rise before the end of the year.
They also came after BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in an interview published in Saturday’s Sankei newspaper that there is “sufficient chance†it will ramp up its monetary easing after September’s policy meeting. The two comments, which highlight a divergence of monetary policy in Washington and Tokyo, gave a much-needed boost to the dollar, which last week fell below 100 yen following disappointing US data.
In afternoon trade the greenback bought 100.82 yen, up from 100.20 yen late Friday in New York, helping exporters in Tokyo.
“The yen is heading for more weakening against the dollar as interest rates diverge with the US, which the market is taking positively,†Shoji Hirakawa, chief global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center, told Bloomberg News.
“There are views in the market that insist there are no options left for more easing, but Mr Kuroda probably wants to leave them with hope that there are multiple approaches he could take.â€
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.32 percent, or 52.37 points, at 16,598.19, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.62 percent, or 8.01 points, to close at 1,303.68.
Trade exporters led gains, with Toyota climbing 1.22 percent to 6,100 yen and Honda up 1.22 percent at 3,131 yen.
Sony rose 1.40 percent to close at 3,319 yen amid fresh reports the electronics giant plans to announce a new PlayStation 4 standard and high-end versions next month.
Renesas Electronics dropped 3.09 percent to 598 yen following reports that it is in talks to buy US chipmaker Intersil for about 300 billion yen.
Traders are keenly awaiting Yellen’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium of global central bankers on Friday, hoping she will give some clues about policy direction.