Roundup: Nikkei rises 0.36 pct on robust U.S. jobs data, gains capped by Greece debt concerns

The Nikkei stock index rose 0.36 percent Monday, as the yen weakened against the U.S. dollar following strong U.S. jobs data and hopes the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates earlier than expected, but gains were kept in check by ongoing concerns about Greece's debt woes.

The Nikkei 225 index gained 63.43 points to end the day at 17, 711.93, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues added 0.55 percent, or 7.73 points, to finish at 1,424.92.

Traders here said the market mood was bright from the get go, following the U.S. Labor Department's report released after the markets closed here Friday showing that the world's largest economy added 257,000 new jobs in January and more than 1 million in the last three months, marking the highest number of jobs created in 17 years.

They added that following the robust employment figures, hopes were now high that the Federal Reserve would begin to raise interest rates as early as June, as the economy charts a sustainable recovery track.

"The short-term momentum in U.S. employment was stronger than we expected," Shoji Hirakawa from Okasan Securities said.

But the morning's gains were pared by concerns over Greece's debt, following Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday, saying he was not prepared to extend a "failed" international bailout.

Tsipras, whose Syriza party won elections last month with pledges to end the nation's austerity measures, told the parliament that Greece would seek to renegotiate bailout terms in hopes of a bridge loan, propositions that run contrary to directives from the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund and officials in the single currency region.

Tsipras said the bailout had failed and the government would not ask for an extension of "mistakes." The new prime minister described the bailout as five years of "barbarity" that was too much for the Greek people to endure further.

"There's still some uncertainty in Europe. Tsipras can posture all he wants but the fact is, when that deadline comes Greece won' t be able to borrow money," said IwaiCosmo Securities Co.'s Toshikazu Horiuchi.

But the U.S. dollar rose following the positive jobs data and was changing hands at 118.82 yen the afternoon in Tokyo, up from 117.33 yen logged on Friday.

A weak yen is a positive for exporters here who see their competitiveness boosted in overseas markets and profits outlooks raised and the yields themselves increased when repatriated on favorable exchange rates.

Yokohama-based automaker Nissan accelerated 1.4 percent to close at 1,064 yen, while tire maker Bridgestone added 1.7 percent to finish at 4,559 yen.

Farming and heavy equipment maker Kubota jumped 5.2 percent to 1,789 yen, following the firm reporting its nine month group net profit ended Dec. gained 5.6 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Telecommunications giant Nippon Telegraph (NTT) also found traction following a positive earnings report, with the firm advancing 4.9 percent to 7,212 yen, after announcing its Q3 net income was 159.6 billion yen, well ahead of median analysts' expectations.

But optics and reprography equipment maker Olympus closed in negative territory, losing 3 percent to 4,000 yen, after it reported its net income fell 30 percent to 9.6 billion yen.

Oil exploration giant Inpex was another notable decliner Monday, relinquishing 1.5 percent to 1,352 yen, after the firm lowered its profit forecast for this business year, following the global oil glut impacting the company.

Trading volume on Monday dropped to 2.00 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, down from Friday's volume of 2.21 billion shares, with advancing issues outpacing declining ones by 1,211 to 539. Endi