Nikkei Gains 1%; Current Account Surplus Up 2.9%

Chandrasekhar Atreya
08 Dec, 2010
New York City

Tokyo benchmark index reached a seven month intra-day high on the improved outlook for exports. Japan and Bolivia are set to expand rare earth minerals exploration. Current account surplus reaches 1.43 trillion yen in October. Sumitomo Metal acquires a nickel mining concession in Solomon Islands.

[R]5:00 PM Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo benchmark index reached a seven month intra-day high on the improved outlook for exports. Japan and Bolivia are set to expand rare earth minerals exploration. Current account surplus reaches 1.43 trillion yen in October. Sumitomo Metal acquires a nickel mining concession in Solomon Islands.[/R]

Tokyo stocks climbed and reached a seven months intra-day high after a weakened yen boosted outlook for exports. The proposed extension of tax cuts in the U.S lifted the dollar.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.9% or 91.23 points to close at 10,232.33. The broader Topix gained 0.89% to 887.39 with the total value of shares in the index rising to more than 300 trillion yen for the first time since June 22.

The Japanese yen weakened against the dollar after the greenback rallied sharply in New York on the back of rising Treasury yields.

The yen depreciated to as low as 83.94 against the dollar and to 111.11 yen to a euro in Tokyo today.

China bought a net 262.5 trillion yen of Japanese assets in October and increased its holdings for the first time in three months, data from the Ministry of Finance showed today.

The reading comes after China sold a net of 769.2 trillion yen in September after unloading a net of 2.018 trillion yen in August, with most of the transaction in Japanese government bonds.

Current account surplus totaled 1.43 trillion yen in October, up 2.9% from a year ago, according to preliminary data from the Finance Ministry released today.

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co acquired a nickel mining concession in the Solomon Islands beating other bidders after invited by the government.

The company which produces 60,000 tons of nickel annually plans to raise its output to 150,000 tons a year in the long-term. Nickel is used to make digital home appliances and cars and is a key focus for Sumitomo in addition to copper and gold.

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Co announced today its mid-term capital expenditure plan for the period 2011-15.

The one trillion yen outlay includes investments in growth areas such as light-emitting diodes, lithium-ion battery components and pharmaceuticals apart from allocation of 750 billion yen for research and development in that period.

Japan’s core machinery orders fell 1.4% in October, from a month earlier, to 745.7 billion yen, the Cabinet Office reported today, the second month of decline in a row.

Machinery orders for manufacturing industry gained 1.4%, while that for non-manufacturing sector fell 8.7%. Core machinery orders rose by 7% in October from a year ago.

With exporters attracting buying due to the weaker yen and a broad range of other issues supporting the market, the total market capitalization of stocks listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange surpassed 300 trillion yen today morning for the first time since June.

The market cap reached 303 trillion yen on June 22.

Businessmen sleep the least in Tokyo, when compared to their peers in four cities overseas, with staying up late being the main cause for the lesser hours of sleep, according to a survey conducted by a private company

Ajinomoto Co found that businessmen in Tokyo sleep an average five hours and 59 minutes during weekdays, much less than those in New York, Shanghai, Paris and Stockholm. Shanghai businessmen sleep the longest at seven hours and 28 minutes.

Japan, which imports more than 80% of lithium from Bolivia, is expected to announce today an agreement with that country to jointly develop project for the rare metal.

Japanese Premier Naoto Kan is scheduled to meet with visiting Bolivian President Evo Morales today and issue a joint statement.

The Deposit Insurance Corp of Japan decided on Tuesday to repay 25% of the principal exceeding the 10 billion yen deposit insurance cap to customers of the failed Incubator Bank of Japan, after getting approval from the Finance Ministry and the Financial Services Agency.

Stock Movers

Among exporters Sony Corp gained 1.9% to close at 3,040 yen and Kyocera Corp added 1.4% to 8,690 yen.

Honda added 1.99% to 3,135 yen and Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru brand vehicles, gained 1.6% to 630 yen.

East Japan Railway and Central Japan Railway Co advanced 2.8% and 1.2% to 5,220 yen and 664,000 yen respectively, after Goldman Sachs maintained its “buy” rating on these companies.

Mitsui & Co, Japan’s second-largest trading house, added 1.29% to 1,379 yen and its rival Sumitomo Corp gained 1.2% to 1,188 yen.