Japan shares jump 1 per cent on positive US employment data

Feb 6, 2012, 3:15 GMT

Tokyo - Japanese stocks rose 1 per cent Monday morning, led by carmakers, as market sentiment was bolstered by a report about the better-than-estimated US jobless rate.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 93.05 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 8,924.98 at the end of the morning session at 11:30 am (0230 GMT).

The broader Topix index was up 8.38 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 769.07.

Shares in carmakers such as Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co and Honda Motor Co rose strongly. Toyota surged 2.62 per cent, Nissan was up 3.28 per cent and Honda jumped 2.6 per cent.

The United States is a key market for Japan's export-oriented manufacturers, many of which were hard hit by last year's tsunami and earthquake.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.23 per cent after the US Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 per cent in January, reaching a near-three-year low.

On currency markets at 11:30 am, the dollar traded at 76.58-60 yen, up from Friday's 5 pm quote of 76.18-19 yen.

The euro was quoted at 100.21-24 yen, little changed from 100.16-20 yen late Friday, and at 1.3084-3086 dollars, down from 1.3148-3149 dollars.