Japan's Nikkei 225 index hits five-year high

02/06/06 - newratings.com

LONDON, February 6 (newratings.com) – Japan's benchmark stock index hit a five-year high on Monday.

The blue-chip Nikkei 225 index fell 80.58 points, or 0.5%, to end the morning session at 16,579.06. The index subsequently rose and hit an intraday high of 16,777.37. The benchmark stock index rose 88.12 points, or 0.53%, to close at 16,747.76, hitting its highest finish since August 31, 2000.

The broader-based TOPIX index of all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 11.23 points, or 0.7%, to end the morning session at 1,696.73. The TOPIX index of all first-section shares gained 4.34 points, or 0.25%, to close at 1,712.30, marking its highest close since April 10, 2000.

Market sentiments improved after the Japanese government said the nation’s diffusion index of leading economic indicators rose to a preliminary reading of 80.0 in December, up from 54.5 in the previous month, pointing towards economic expansion in the near future.

Among the day's main gainers were automobile companies, textile firms, securities brokerage houses and pharmaceutical companies. Itochu Corp’s share price rose ¥19 to ¥1,040. While Softbank’s share price jumped ¥90 to ¥4,290, Sumitomo Metal Industries’ share price was up ¥9 at ¥496. Fuji Heavy Industries’ share price jumped ¥44 to ¥639.