Japanese
stocks rose, with the Topix index heading for a second weekly gain,
after the yen weakened as U.S. jobs data and earnings boosted confidence
in the outlook for the world™s biggest economy.
The
Topix added 0.9 percent to 1,426.05 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, headed
for gains of 1.6 percent this week and 1.3 percent in January. All of
its 33 industry groups advanced. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1
percent to 17,778.26. The yen traded at 117.24 per dollar after falling
0.6 percent yesterday.
Futures
on the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index were little changed. The
underlying gauge added 1 percent yesterday as investors scrutinized
earnings for clues to the strength of the U.S. economy. Dow Chemical Co.
added 4.6 percent and Harman International Industries Inc. surged 24
percent as profits topped estimates.
Applications
for unemployment insurance benefits in the U.S. plunged by 43,000 to
265,000 in the week ended Jan. 24, the fewest since April 2000,
according to the Labor Department. The Bloomberg index of consumer
comfort climbed in the seven-day period ended Jan. 25 to the highest
level since July 2007.
A
government report today showed Japan™s core consumer prices rose 2.5
percent in December from a year earlier, less than the median projection
of 2.6 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Another report
showed industrial production increased 1 percent in December from
November, below economists™ estimates for 1.2 percent.
Source: Bloomberg
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