Nikkei 225 Rises to 2007 High as Yen Falls to May Low

Japanese stocks rose, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbing to an almost six-year high, as the yen fell to the lowest since May versus the dollar after data showed U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly accelerated last month.

Mazda Motor Corp., an automaker that gets 30 percent of its sales in North America, added 1.7 percent. Sekisui Chemical Co. jumped 7.5 percent as the Nikkei newspaper reported that it developed a cheaper and longer-lasting material for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. Nippon Paper Industries Co. gained 5.7 percent as Credit Suisse Group AG raised the stock’s target price. Paper companies rose the most among the 33 Topix (TPX) index industry groups while utilities led declines.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.6 percent to 15,749.66 at the close in Tokyo, the highest since Dec. 12, 2007. The Topix rose 0.3 percent to 1,262.54. Trading of the Jasdaq Top-20 Index was halted in the afternoon due to a calculation error. The yen touched 103.38 per dollar today, the weakest since May. Investors awaited the release of U.S. jobs data on Dec. 6.

“I think it’s easier to buy Japanese stocks with a weaker yen while investors may be nervous about other share markets ahead of the U.S. jobs data,” said Isao Kubo, a Tokyo-based equity strategist at Nissay Asset Management Corp., which oversees about 6.13 trillion yen ($59 billion). “But shares can fall anytime because they have risen very fast.”

Source: Bloomberg