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Roundup: Nikkei climbs 1.43 pct, propelled by weaker yen

Xinhua, March 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Nikkei stock index climbed 1.43 percent Thursday, breaking the psychologically important 19,000 line for the first time in 15 years, as investor sentiment was lifted by a weaker yen, which propelled exporter issues higher.

The Nikkei 225 index added 267.59 points to close the day at 18, 991.11, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues gained 1.37 percent, or 20.96 points, to end at 1,546.63.

Traders here said that the Government Pension Investment Fund ( GPIF) continuing to plough into local assets was helping to underpin the overall market and despite a weak lead from Wall Street overnight, trading here remained buoyant owing to a weak yen.

"The weakening yen is helping out today. Exporters don't actually need the yen to weaken much more than this because even at these levels we're seeing a recovery in exports," said Yoshito Sakakibara, an economist at JP Morgan Chase & Co.'s asset- management unit in Tokyo.

The U.S. dollar was switching hands at 121.33 yen in Tokyo in afternoon trade, compared to 121.44 yen logged in New York. A weaker yen is a boon to exporters who see their competitiveness and profit outlooks boosted in their respective overseas markets. Profits are also augmented when repatriated on favorable exchange rates.

As such, Nissan Motor accelerated 2.8 percent to finish at 1, 273 yen, while Toyota added 1.22 percent to close at 8,258 yen.

Consumer electronics makers Panasonic advanced 1.4 percent to 1, 526 yen and Sony gained 0.18 percent to finish at 3,262 yen.

Japan's third-largest insurer Dai-ichi Life jumped 2 percent to 1,798 yen, following local media reports stated that the firm will increase dividends to individual policy holders.

Japan Airlines Co., was a notable gainer Thursday, leaping 4.3 percent to 3,965 yen, after falling prices for crude meant for cheaper fuel prices for the carrier. ANA Holdings Inc., for its part., gained 1.5 percent to end the day at 331 yen.

Brother Industries, a multinational electronics and equipment maker, closed in negative territory, however, slumping 5.7 percent to 1,891 yen, after the company announced it would buy the U.K.'s Domino Printing Sciences Plc. for 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in cash. Brother plans to expand in labels and packaging due to the declines in the office printing market.

Trading volume on Thursday increased to 2.18 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, up from Wednesday's volume of 1.92 billion shares, with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones by 1,443 to 295. Endi