October 07, 2024 at 02:14 am EDT
(MT Newswires) -- Japanese shares closed higher on Monday, buoyed by proactive measures from Atsushi Mimura, Japan's top currency diplomat, who warned against speculative moves in the foreign exchange market as the yen fell below 149 per dollar.
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.8%, or 697.12 points, to finish at 39,332.74.
In economic news, Japan's coincident economic index fell to 113.5 in August from 117.2 in July, its lowest since February, amid high inflation, weak exports, and market volatility, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
In early trading, the yen weakened to 149.10 against the dollar, marking its lowest point since Aug. 16, following a robust US jobs report that dampened expectations for significant Federal Reserve rate cuts.
The yen's decline intensified after new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba unexpectedly said the economy was not ready for further rate hikes, reversing his earlier support for the Bank of Japan's tightening measures.
Central bank analysts also urged caution regarding potential rate increases, citing a global shift toward easing monetary policies.
The Bank of England and European Central Bank are considering cuts, while Canada and Sweden are likely to adopt further easing due to weak economic indicators, according to Bloomberg News.
Analysts from Evercore IS highlighted that easing in major economies complicates the Bank of Japan's rate hike strategy.
On the corporate front, Segue Group (TYO:3968) reported a 6.4% rise in net income to 434 million yen for Q2, driven by gains from derivative cancellations, despite a 7.1% decline in net sales to 8.41 billion yen due to challenging year-over-year comparisons from previous order backlogs.
Meanwhile, Seven & i Holdings (TYO:3382) is actively seeking buyers for its Ito-Yokado stores amid a takeover approach from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard, targeting a sale of 320 billion to 430 billion yen.
The deal could involve private equity firms and a portion of its stake in Seven Bank (TYO:8410), Bloomberg reported.
Additionally, Daiwa House Industry (TYO:1925) is in discussions to invest $500 million in U.S. property developer Alliance Residential, though the terms of the deal remain fluid, according to Bloomberg.

Sumber : MT Newswires