Tokyo stocks trade higher, helped by cheaper yen

FILE – A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on April 19, 2024. Asian benchmarks extended gains Tuesday, April 23, after U.S. stocks clawed back a chunk of their losses from the previous week.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

TOKYO, Japan — Tokyo shares edged higher on Monday, supported by a cheaper yen against the dollar following falls on Wall Street and losses in early trade for the key Nikkei index.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.19 percent, or 81.73 points, at 38,670.21 in morning trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.52 percent, or 14.10 points, to 2,738.79.

READ: Japan’s exports surged 13.5% in May, helped by cheap yen

Following a retreat in Nvidia in New York and weak share prices elsewhere, “there are few factors to prompt buying” in Tokyo, Matsui Securities said.

But “the yen’s depreciation and expectations that dividends could be reinvested may support the market”, it added.

The dollar bought 159.88 yen, easing modestly from levels of 159.90 in Tokyo’s early hours, with the Japanese currency nearly hitting a new three-decade low.

The yen’s latest slide has put traders on intervention watch after Japan’s finance ministry spent 9.79 trillion yen ($61 billion) to prop up the yen between April 26 and May 29.

“We are ready to take appropriate measures any time if excessive movements occur” in forex markets, Japan’s top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said on Monday.

“If there are excessive movements, that would have an extremely negative impact on the Japanese economy,” he added.

A cheaper yen is generally good for Japanese manufacturers as it inflates their repatriated profits, but it causes a rise in imported goods and ultimately hits household spending.

Among major shares, Toyota was up 2.37 percent at 3,147 yen and Hitachi was down 0.39 percent at 16,705 yen. Chipmaker Renesas Electronics was down 1.33 percent at 3,038 yen.

Tokyo Electric Co (TEPCO) was up 1.29 percent at 854.4 yen, after a report said it plans to launch a hydrogen supply business as early as fiscal 2026.