Tokyo stocks up ahead of euro zone talks

Tokyo stocks rose 0.60 percent as investors awaited developments from debt-hit Europe ahead of crucial talks among the region's leaders on how to fix the eurozone's fiscal woes.

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Tokyo - Tokyo stocks rose 0.60 percent on Monday as investors awaited developments from debt-hit Europe ahead of crucial talks among the region's leaders on how to fix the eurozone's fiscal woes.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 52.23 points to 8,695.98. The Topix index of all first-section issues also gained 0.60 percent, or 4.47 points, to 748.61.

Sentiment was boosted by solid US employment data Friday but the gains were weighed by profit-taking amid uncertainty over the European sovereign debt crisis, said Yumi Nishimura, senior market analyst at Daiwa Securities.

The US unemployment rate fell sharply to its lowest level in 32

months, with employers adding 120,000 jobs in November.

“The figures weren't bad at all,” Nishimura said.

“With the Dow Jones Industrial Average holding above 12,000, there was some more room for buyback for lagged Japan stocks,” she said. The blue-chip Dow rose 0.01 percent to end Friday at 12,019.42.

Investors were also watching out for a series of key debt crisis meetings in Europe this week, brokers said.

Italy on Sunday unveiled a draconian austerity programme worth 20 billion euros ($27 billion) in an effort to avoid bankruptcy for the eurozone's third-largest economy but warned a new recession was looming.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are due to meet later Monday, with European Union summit talks planned for Thursday and Friday.

Major changes are not expected, “but the worst-cast scenario has already been factored into the market, and stock prices are poised for gradual upside”, said Takashi Ushio, general manager at Marusan Securities.

In Tokyo, shares in Toyota Motors rose 2.65 percent to 2,663

yen. Casual fashion retailer Fast Retailing jumped 4.48 percent to 13,050 yen, while telecom operator Softbank rose 1.53 percent to 2,442 yen.

Electronics maker TDK fell 3.93 percent to 3,665 yen despite weekend news that US-based Western Digital had partially resumed production of hard-disk drives in flood-hit Thailand.

In mid-November, TDK and Western Digital agreed to cooperate on disk drive component production following massive damage caused by Thailand's record flooding. - Sapa-AFP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/tokyo-stocks-up-ahead-of-euro-zone-talks-1.1192359

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