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Roundup: Nikkei adds 0.75 pct on yen's decline, hopes for strong corporate earnings

Xinhua, April 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Nikkei stock index added 0.75 percent to a fresh 15-year high Thursday, owing to a weaker yen sending exporters higher and hopes for solid corporate earnings underpinning the broader market.

The Nikkei 225 stock average gained 147.91 points to close at 19,937.72, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues added 0.36 percent, or 5.72 points, to finish at 1,594.19.

Brokers here said that along with the strong hopes for upcoming corporate earnings and profit outlooks from Japanese firms, as earnings season swings into gear and the yen's retreat against the U.S. dollar also lifting the market mood, the slowdown in the U.S. jobs market has actually been one of the most important influencers of fundaments recently.

Due to the poor jobs data in the United States pointing to a downturn in the pace of recovery in the world's largest economy, there is a consensus among analysts that the U.S. Federal Reserve will almost certainly hold fire on a previously expected rate hike in June, until later in the year, with its ongoing accommodative policy being a plus for global markets.

"The market is assuming a June hike is no longer possible in view of the weakness of the latest jobs data," said Tsutomu Yamada, market analyst at kabu.com Securities Co.

With the U.S. dollar changing hands at 120.28 yen Thursday, up from 120.14 yen logged in New York on Wednesday in late trade, some exporters got a boost on increased competitiveness and profit outlooks.

Nissan Motor accelerated 4.6 percent to 1,264 yen, following SMBC Nikko Securities raising its rating on the stock from " neutral" to "outperform" and Fujitec advanced 3.5 percent, after announcing a hefty buyback deal amounting to 7.6 billion of its own shares.

Nikkei heavyweight Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo clothing stores, gained 1.93 percent to close at 48,500 yen, but oil and energy issues lost ground due to slumping prices for crude, and explorer Inpex sank 2.8 percent to 1,378 yen, while JX Holdings fell 1.1 percent to end the day at 483 yen.

Trading volume on Thursday dropped to 1.98 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, down from Wednesday's volume of 2.29 billion shares, with declining issues beating advancing ones by 938 to 786. Endi