Nikkei up
February 19, 2015
The benchmark index at Tokyo's Stock Exchange rose 0.36 percent on Thursday, or 65.62 points, to 18,264.79, its best finish since May 2000. It was pushed up by a surge in bank shares and Sony as the consumer electronics giant forecasts a jump in operating profit.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares also leapt forward 0.83 percent, or 12.26 points, to 1,494.93 by the close.
Official data suggested that surging exports helped cut Japan's trade deficit by more than half in January, a day after the central bank said the world's No. 3 economy was recovering well.
"Easing concerns over the Greek problem, a strong US stock market, and the yen's relative weakness - the overall market conditions are upbeat," Hiroaki Hiwata, a strategist at Toyo Securities, told AFP news agency.
Greek deal
On Monday, separate data showed Japan crawled out of recession in the fourth quarter of 2014, offering some hope for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's growth blitz, dubbed Abenomics, after a sales tax rise last year hammered consumer spending and threw the plan into doubt.
Growing expectations for a last-minute deal between Greece and its European creditors also helped boost shares.
Late on Wednesday, the European Central Bank (ECB) approved a two-week extension on emergency funding to Greek banks, a bank source said one day before Athens is expected to request a six-month extension of its loan agreement with the Eurogroup.
The move was confirmed Wednesday by a Greek government official, who said Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis would formally send a letter to Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem asking for a six-month extension of its loan agreement due to expire at the end of the month.
bk/cjc (AFP, AP)