Topix Jumps Most Since March 2011

Bloomberg, (10/6) -- The Topix index climbed by the most in two years, after a three-week, $600 billion rout, as the yen weakened and shares advanced across the board. Stocks also gained after the government pension fund said it will sell bonds to buy more equities. All the Topix’s 33 industry groups advanced, led by carmakers, brokerages and steel producers. Toyota Motor Corp. jumped 7.1 percent, the most since March 2011. Sharp Corp. surged 12.7 percent after Qualcomm Inc. agreed to a second share purchase. Toshiba Corp. soared 7 percent after a report it may win a contract to build nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic. The Topix increased 4 percent to 1,099.64 as of 12:46 p.m. in Tokyo, its biggest gain since March 22, 2011. Just 41 shares fell on the 1,709-member gauge. The measure plunged 6.9 percent last week, its third weekly decline. It’s the first time since at least 2000 the gauge has dropped more than 4 percent for three straight weeks. The yen weakened against the dollar after better-than-estimated U.S. jobs data last week. “The stock market is carefully watching the currency market,” said Masayuki Kubota, who oversees the equivalent of $1.7 billion at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. “But both the markets have been so volatile recently it’s hard to know what the appropriate levels are.” Shares also rose today after the government said the Japanese economy grew more in the first quarter than the government initially forecast. Gross domestic product expanded an annualized 4.1 percent, compared with a preliminary calculation of 3.5 percent, the Cabinet Office said. More Shares The BOJ started a two-day policy meeting today. At issue is whether to double the maturity of loans extended to banks to two years to quell bond-market volatility. The board is divided over authorizing the measure.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 11:42 AM