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TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average rose more than 1% on Thursday as a weak yen boosted sentiment, masking losses of SoftBank Group on its surprise quarterly loss.
The Nikkei was up 1.2% to 39,421.00 as of 0216 GMT.
“Last month, Japanese stocks were dragged lower by worries about the yen’s strength. But those concerns have eased for now as the yen fell against the dollar,” said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.
After Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised short-term interest rates to 0.5% last month, expectations grew that the central bank may raise rates faster and higher, driving the yen to rise against the U.S. dollar.
“The market view on the BOJ’s monetary policy has not changed but the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates as expected and that changed the course of the yen,” Matsumoto said.
The dollar rose to a one-week high against the yen overnight, as a hotter-than-expected consumer prices reading raised expectations that the Fed will hold rates higher for longer.
A weaker Japanese currency tends to boost exporters’ shares, as it increases the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms repatriate them to Japan.
The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.92% to 2,758.34, with Toyota Motor rising 1.8% to boost the index the most.
Honda gained 1.89%, while Nissan Motor.T lost 1.3%.
Trend Micro 4704.T surged 16%, hitting the daily limit, after Reuters reported Bain Capital, Advent International and EQT AB are among private equity firms competing to acquire the Japanese cybersecurity firm.
