TOKYO: Japanese stocks closed yesterday at a 15-month high as investors cheered a weaker yen and the government’s plan to expand a credit line to troubled Japan Airlines.
GOOD MOOD: Kimono-clad employees pose during a ceremony to mark the start the first trading session after the New Year’s Day holidays at the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday. The Tokyo exchange introduced the new system called “Arrowhead” — much faster than the previous one, which took at least a few seconds to process an order — following a series of technical problems in recent years, with the speed on par with the dealing systems in New York and London. —AFP photo
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index gained 108.35 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 10,654.79, the best finish since early October 2008.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 8.16 points, or 0.90 per cent, to 915.75.
“The mood on the first day of trading this year is good,” Kenji Shiomura, market analyst at Daiwa Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Japan Airlines (JAL) shares soared by more than 30 per cent after the government on Sunday agreed to double a state-funded loan to the cash-strapped carrier to 200 billion yen (US$2.2 billion).
The Tokyo Stock Exchange introduced a new faster trading system yesterday, stepping up its efforts to stay ahead of rival Asian bourses, following a series of technical problems in recent years. —AFP