Japanese stocks rose sharply Friday morning, tracking record closes on Wall Street after US President Donald Trump promised details soon about a “phenomenal” tax-cut plan aimed at boosting the world’s top economy.
US and European equities rallied with the dollar Thursday after Trump said at a meeting with airline executives that he would unveil his blueprint in the coming weeks.
“Over the next two or three weeks,” he said, there would be an announcement that would be “phenomenal in terms of tax”.
On Friday, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.36 percent, or 446.31 points, to end the morning at 19,353.98, while the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 2.08 percent, or 31.54 points, to 1,545.09.
“In the end, policies pushed forward by Trump, including tax cuts and infrastructure investment, should be positive for Japanese companies,” said Nobuyuki Fujimoto, a senior market analyst at SBI Securities.
“If a tax structure that focuses on labour creation emerges in the US, wages should rise as America approaches full employment, and a gradually stronger dollar will be positive for Japanese businesses,” he told Bloomberg News.
Investors are keeping a close eye on weekend meetings in the US between Trump and Japanese leader Shinzo Abe.
Carmakers rallied on the weak yen, which boosts Japanese exporters’ profitability.
The dollar was trading at 113.64 yen Friday, up from 113.22 yen in New York Thursday afternoon and 112.00 yen in Tokyo earlier in the day.
Toyota rose 2.95 percent to 6,440 yen and Honda added 2.91 percent to 3,606 yen.
Nissan rose 0.99 yen to 1,120.5 yen. After markets closed Thursday, the automaker announced a fall in its nine-month profit owing to the cost of bigger incentives offered to customers in the key US market.
Toshiba rose 3.50 percent to 233.4 yen as investors brace for Tuesday’s earnings announcement when the firm is expected to unveil losses in its US nuclear power unit that reportedly could top $6 billion.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial climbed 2.90 percent to 761.5 yen and brokerage Nomura gained 2.45 percent to 759.8 yen.
Takata rose 1.99 percent to 461 yen despite warning of special losses exceeding $900 million in the nine-months to December linked to its exploding airbag scandal. The firm reports earnings later Friday.
On Wall Street the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all jumped 0.6 percent to record highs. (AFP)
