Japan Stock Market Trades Higher as Yen Continues to Weaken

Japan’s stock markets traded higher on April 12, as the yen continues to weaken.

At the end of the day, Nikkei 225 index was up 177.66 points, or 1.1%, at 15,928.79.

The Japanese yen dipped to 108.35 against the US dollar in Asian trade from 107.94 during US trade overnight.

Toyota shares closed higher by nearly 4% after several days of losses, with rival Nissan seeing a 3.2% jump in its shares.

A cheaper yen makes Japanese goods cheaper and more competitive, and is generally seen as a boost for export-related companies.

Shares of brokerage firm Nomura surged 7.4% on reports it plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs in US and Europe. Investors had been worried about Nomura’s non-performing businesses overseas.

In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi closed up 0.6% at 1,981.32.

In Australia, the S&P ASX 200 index also rose, ending the day up 0.9% at 4,975.60.

Hong Kong markets were also higher. By midday, the benchmark Hang Seng was 0.2% higher at 20,482.30.

However, Chinese markets were lower for most of the session and by midday the Shanghai composite index was down 0.7% at 3,014.20. Investors were selling off shares across the board, including telecommunications and property shares.

US stocks closed lower on April 11 after a late sell-off erased gains made earlier in the day. Investors were preparing themselves for a slew of company results this week.

Later this week, investors will be looking out for earnings from America’s biggest banks.