Nikkei Soars 3%, Utilities and Financials Advance in Tokyo

Hiruki Nakamura
03 Sep, 2013
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo gained on the latest improving economic data from China and Europe. Utility stocks advanced after Prime Minister offered financial assurance to contain Fukushima disaster and a panel said fault line below Osaka nuclear power plant is not active.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo gained on the latest improving economic data from China and Europe. Utility stocks advanced after Prime Minister offered financial assurance to contain Fukushima disaster and a panel said fault line below Osaka nuclear power plant is not active.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo surged and the yen declined to a one-month as investors digested more economic news across the world.

On the domestic front, investors focused on the report from a government appointed committee of seismologists and geologists. The report said that the fault under the Osaka based Kansai Electric’s nuclear power plant is not active, but added that the determination is nor final.


Separately, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government is prepared to provide all funds necessary to contain the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 405.52 or 3% to 13,978.44 and the Topix jumped 31.40 or 2.8% to 1,149.18.

The yen weakened 0.2% to 99.55.

On the economic front, manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest pace in 16-month in August and service sector growth slowed to 53.9 from 54.1 in July. The index above shows expansion.

Separate reports in Spain and in the UK showed improving economic picture in Europe.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp climbed 200 yen to 6,200 yen and Honda Motor Co. jumped 85 yen to 3,655 yen.

Nissan Motor Co Ltd advanced 31 yen to 1,012 yen and automobile company plans to donate 47 Nissan LEAF all-electric zero-emission and ""LEAF-to-Home"" power supply systems to roadside rest area stations in all of Japan''s 47 districts.

Sony increased 60 yen to 2,040 yen.

Softbank Corp gained 170 yen to 6,470 yen and Fast Retailing Co. soared 1,300 to 34,050 yen.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd jumped 2.7% to 569 yen after the diversified manufacturer secured full-turnkey order from Taiwan Power Company to construct 2,600 megawatts gas turbine power plant.

Pigeon Corporation surged 7.9% to 4,905 yen after the childcare and nursing products maker lifted net profit forecast for the year as much as 16% to 5.6 billion yen.

Rakuten Inc rose 0.2% to 1,195 yen after the Japan based internet retailer confirmed to acquire Singapore-based video streaming platform provider Viki Inc. as the Rakuten seeks to expand into new digital offerings.

Rakuten generates nearly 400 billion yen annual revenue from its online shopping mall.