Yen Weakness Boosts Nikkei
Asian stocks advanced Monday as the U.S. dollar’s continued rise pushed Japanese stocks higher to a fresh 5½ year high, while Hong Kong gained as Chinese property developers outperformed.
The U.S. dollar weakened against the yen, after climbing above the ¥103 mark for the first time since October 2008 on Friday. The greenback had pushed higher against its Japanese counterpart after data showed a strong rise in U.S. consumer sentiment, which fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve could curtail its bond-buying program.
The yen pushed back after Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said on Sunday that the currency’s excessive strength has largely “corrected” and that further weakness could “have a negative impact on people’s lives.”
The U.S. dollar was recently at ¥102.50, compared with ¥103.23 late Friday in New York, after dropping as low as ¥102 at the beginning of Monday’s trading session.
In addition, precious metals declined in Asia. Gold was down 1.4% at $1,345.60 an ounce, while silver tumbled 4.6% to $21.32 an ounce.
The weaker yen continued to lift Japanese stocks, with the Nikkei Stock Average climbing 1.5% to 15,360.81, its highest level since December 27, 2007. Exporters were also beneficiaries from the softer currency: Honda Motor Co. 7267.TO +2.27%advanced 2.3% and Nissan Motor Co. 7201.TO +5.60% rose 5.6%.
Also making moves in Tokyo were large infrastructure manufacturers, as Hitachi gained 2.6% and Toshiba Corp. 6502.TO +4.61% pushed 4.6% higher, following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pledge on Friday to triple Japan’s overseas sales of infrastructure to ¥30 trillion over the next two decades.
More broadly stocks across the region were following gains on Wall Street where the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high on Friday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 5,209.00, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 1.8% 23,493.03, and Singapore’s Strait Times Index was last up 0.2%.
Chinese stocks in Hong Kong were playing catch up with stocks on the mainland, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index up 1.5% to 11,186.54 following a 1.4% gain on the Shanghai Composite on Friday, when Hong Kong was closed for a public holiday. The Shanghai Composite on Monday added another 0.8% to 2,299.99.
Property developers were higher after government data showed that housing prices continued to rise in April. China Resources Land 1109.HK +3.73% jumped 3.7% and China Overseas Land & Investment was 2.8% higher in Hong Kong.
A major mover in Hong Kong was China Mengniu Dairy Co., which spiked 10.4% higher on news that Danone SA is striking a deal with the Chinese milk producer that will give the French company an 4% indirect stake, valued at around $230 million.
The next data point for China will be preliminary manufacturing data for May due on Thursday.
Increased tension on the Korean peninsula also hurt investor sentiment in Seoul, where the Kospi Composite dropped 0.2% to 1,982.43. Korean markets were shut Friday for a holiday.
The Wall Street Journal
