By Supriya Singh,
The Nikkei stock index in Tokyo extended its winning streak to three days Monday as the ruling camp's victory in Sunday's election gave reassurance on political stability, with gains boosted by the yen's drop to a new 24-year low against the U.S. dollar on remarks by the Bank of Japan governor.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 295.11 points, or 1.11 percent, from Friday at 26,812.3. The broader Topix index finished 27.23 points, or 1.44 percent, higher at 1,914.66.
On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by pharmaceutical, precision instrument and transportation equipment issues.
The Japanese currency briefly fell to as low as 137.28 against the dollar, its lowest level since September 1998, after BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated Monday at a meeting of the bank's branch managers that the BOJ will not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary, dealers said.
Adding to the downward pressure on the yen was the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. job data for June on Friday, which strengthened expectations for large interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and a wider gap between U.S. and Japanese government bond yields, they added.
At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 136.80-82 yen compared with 136.07-17 yen in New York and 135.83-85 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Friday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0111-0112 and 138.32-36 yen against $1.0181-0191 and 138.55-65 yen in New York and $1.0108-0110 and 137.30-34 yen in Tokyo late Friday afternoon.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond fell 0.005 percentage point from Friday's close to 0.240 percent, tracking a drop in U.S. Treasury yields during after-hours trading.
The Nikkei index briefly extended gains to more than 500 points or over 2 percent, as sentiment was cheered after the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito secured a total of 75 seats in Sunday's House of Councillors election, enabling them to retain a majority in the 248-member upper house.
"Election results were in line with the market expectations, but shares were bought amid relief that Japan will see political stability for a few years," said Koichi Fujishiro, a senior economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
The stock market took the U.S. jobs data as a positive sign, easing concerns over a recession in the United States, he said.
The U.S. economy created 372,000 nonfarm jobs in the reporting month, data from the Labor Department showed Friday, exceeding the market consensus of an increase of 268,000.
But the market trimmed gains as investors opted to cash in when the Nikkei index topped the 27,000 mark, analysts said.
Investors were also cautious about chasing the upside aggressively ahead of the U.S. consumer price index for June on Wednesday, which could further bolster expectations for rate hikes by the Fed, Fujishiro added.
Among Prime Market issues, advancing issues outnumbered decliners 1,624 to 189, while 25 ended unchanged.
Export-oriented shares gained on the yen's slide. Nissan Motor climbed 13.2 yen, or 2.6 percent, to 517.4 yen, Mazda Motor added 22 yen, or 2.2 percent, to 1,042 yen, and Suzuki Motor advanced 50 yen, or 1.2 percent, to 4,290 yen.
Bucking the upward trend, Yaskawa Electric lost 255 yen, or 5.6 percent, to 4,290 yen, after the industrial machinery's earnings for the March-May quarter Friday undershot market expectations.
Trading volume on the Prime Market fell to 1,152.48 million shares from Friday's 1,466.87 million.
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