Japanese stocks closed with gains as sentiment rose due to the yen’s decline

On Monday, the Nikkei Japanese Index rose for the first time in three days due to an increase in market confidence linked strongly to export activity as the yen depreciated.

However, concerns regarding a global financial crisis weighed heavily on financial stocks and limited overall gains.

The index concluded trading up by 0.33% at 27476.87 points and reached its highest level in two weeks during afternoon dealings at 27385.25 points.

Out of 225 stocks on the index, 161 rose while 57 fell, and seven remained unchanged.

The Topix index widened by 0.33% to reach 1961.84 points.

Out of 33 sub-indices in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the best performing sub-index was the land transport sector which increased by 1.78%. Meanwhile, the banking services index was the biggest loser with a decrease of 0.54%.

After the yen dropped from its two-month high against the dollar, stocks in automobile manufacturing companies performed strongly. Suzuki Motor’s stock gained 1.37%, Subaru Corp’s stock rose 0.53%, and Honda Motor’s stock increased by 0.62%.

On the other hand, Tokyo Electron’s stock, which produces chip-making equipment, was among the biggest losers and caused 43 points to be wiped off the index with a drop of 2.5%, following similar declines seen by similar stocks on Friday in the United States.