Business News

Japan shares rise on weaker yen, end of rolling blackouts

Apr 8, 2011, 7:04 GMT

Tokyo - Japanese stocks jumped Friday after a weak start as investor sentiment was boosted by the end of rolling blackouts and the yen's fall against the euro.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 177.15 points, or 1.85 per cent, to close at 9,768.08 while the broader Topix index was up 12.03 points, or 1.43 per cent, at 853.13.

For the week, the Nikkei was up 0.61 per cent while the Topix was down 1.1 per cent.

The Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said Friday that the company would no longer conduct rolling blackouts as more corporations and consumers cut back on electricity. The blackouts were imposed after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami shut down nuclear power plants.

The impact of the latest aftershock was limited on the Tokyo market. At least three people died and about 140 were injured in the magnitude-7.4 quake that struck north-eastern Japan Thursday night. The quake did not unleash a tsunami.

No impact from the aftershock was reported at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which was damaged in the March 11 disaster and has been leaking radiation since. However, the latest tremor led to problems at another plant at Onagawa.

The yen fell against the euro, hovering around mid-122 yen to the European currency in the afternoon.

A weaker yen makes Japanese goods less expensive abroad and improves repatriated earnings.

On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the dollar traded at 85.08-13 yen, down from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 85.24-26 yen.

The euro traded at 1.4388-4391 dollars, up from 1.4285-4287 dollars Thursday, and at 122.43-48 yen, up from 121.77-81 yen.

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