Tokyo Stocks Up for 6th Day, Boosted by U.S. Employment Data

Jiji Press

17:02 JST, September 4, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Tokyo stocks advanced for the sixth straight trading day Monday, as market sentiment was brightened by U.S. jobs data.

The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section increased 228.56 points, or 0.70%, to finish at 32,939.18.

The broader TOPIX index rose 23.98 points, or 1.02%, to end at 2,373.73.

An array of stocks went up as investors took heart from the U.S. Dow Jones industrial average’s rebound Friday, which was prompted by the U.S. Labor Department’s employment report for August.

The report, which signaled a softening of the U.S. labor market, “alleviated concerns over prolonged interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve,” brokers said. The yen’s drop against the dollar helped buoy the market by boosting export-oriented stocks. “Buying of large-capitalization issues continued from last week,” an official at a bank-affiliated securities firm added.

But “the market also showed its top-heaviness amid a dearth of cues” after the benchmark Nikkei scaled over 1,000 points last week, Maki Sawada, strategist at Nomura Securities Co., pointed out.

Foreign investors stayed low-key during the three-day weekend through Monday in the United States, another market sources noted.

On the Prime section, gainers trounced decliners 1,422 to 372 while 40 issues were flat.