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Japanese Stocks Climb; Dollar Down |
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Posted 30 November 2006 @ 10:56 am EET |
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TOKYO (AP) - Japanese stocks rose Thursday amid optimism about the nation's economic propects, with bank and steel shares leading the way. The dollar was lower against the yen.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index rose 198.13 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 16,274.33 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday. The index rose 220.94 points, or 1.39 percent, the day before. Nippon Steel rose 2.77 percent, while Mizuho Trust Banking rose 1.87 percent.
But traders say it will be difficult for the market to extend gains without any fresh evidence of economic and corporate earnings growth. "The market has already come back to a fairly valued level," said Toshihiro Atae, sales manager at Societe Generale's Fimat brokerage.
The broader Topix index, which includes all shares on the exchange's first section, added 22.93 points, or 1.45 percent, to 1,603.03 Thursday. The Topix rose 24.99 points, or 1.61 percent, Wednesday.
In currencies, the dollar bought 116.12 yen on the Tokyo foreign exchange market at 5 p.m. Thursday, down from 116.31 yen late Wednesday in New York. The euro rose to $1.3178 from $1.3156. The benchmark 10-year bond fell to 1.6450 percent, from Wednesday's finish at 1.6800 percent. Its price rose to 101.30 from 101.00.
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Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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