Japanese stocks rose for a third day after reports indicated economic recovery is accelerating in the U.S. and as the yen weakened.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker that gets 30 percent of revenue in North America, climbed 1.4 percent. Canon Inc., a camera maker which derives almost 80 percent of its revenue abroad, advanced 1 percent. T&D Holdings Inc., a life insurer, surged 5.1 percent after the company reported profits that exceeded its forecast.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.9 percent to 10,101.03 as of 9:15 a.m. in Tokyo, set for the highest close since June 22. The broader Topix index gained 0.7 percent to 876.88 with about six times as many stocks advancing as falling.
“Upward momentum in the U.S. economy was confirmed, so concerns that the yen will appreciate further receded,” Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. “Exporters will likely lead gains as worries about their earnings have decreased.”
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.1 percent in New York today. The index gained 1.5 percent to 1,196.69 yesterday as speculation grew that Ireland will accept a bailout to rescue indebted banks and reports on manufacturing and jobless claims bolstered optimism about the economy.
Irish Bailout
Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the government is prepared to ask for a bank rescue after talks with the European Union and International Monetary Fund, which sent teams to Dublin yesterday.
“When details of the EU’s support for Ireland become clear, uncertainties about the outlook of heavily indebted countries will decrease,” Nomura’s Wako said.
A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded in November at the fastest pace this year. Applications for unemployment insurance payments rose by 2,000 to 439,000 in the week ended Nov. 13, Labor Department figures showed yesterday in Washington. That was lower than the median estimate of 441,000 of 46 economists in the Bloomberg survey.
The yen depreciated to 83.79 against the dollar today, compared with 83.22 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. Against the euro, Japan’s currency weakened to 114.09 from 113.14. A weaker yen boosts the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when converted into their home currency.
The Topix has declined 4.3 percent through yesterday in 2010, compared with gains of 7.3 percent by the S&P 500 and 6.8 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Japanese benchmark are valued at 15.3 times estimated earnings, compared with 14.1 times for the S&P 500 and 12.2 times for the Stoxx 600.
Crude oil for December delivery increased 1.8 percent to $81.85 a barrel in New York, the most in two weeks. The London Metal Exchange Index of prices for six industrial metals including copper and aluminum rose 2.3 percent yesterday.
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