Tokyo Stocks Buoyed Further by Yen’s Tumble

Jiji Press

17:35 JST, February 6, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Tokyo stocks extended gains Monday, aided by the yen’s sharp drop against the dollar on expectations that the Bank of Japan will maintain its extremely accommodative monetary policy.

The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section advanced 184.19 points, or 0.67%, to finish at 27,693.65 after rising 107.41 points Friday, stretching its winning streak to four market days.

The broader TOPIX index ended 8.96 points, or 0.45%, higher at 1,979.22, following a 5.09-point gain the previous trading day.

Investor appetite for automakers and other export-oriented stocks was boosted by the yen’s depreciation against the dollar, which was propelled by a media report that the Japanese government has sounded out the Bank of Japan’s Deputy Gov. Masayoshi Amamiya to succeed outgoing Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.

The news strengthened the view that the central bank will maintain its unprecedented easing regime under the leadership of Amamiya, seen by investors as more dovish than other contenders in the governor race.

The dollar had already gained ground vis-a-vis the Japanese currency on rising U.S. interest rates in the wake of the release Friday of the Labor Department’s employment report for January, which showed nonfarm payrolls’ steeper-than-expected growth and the jobless rate’s drop to a 53-year low.