Nikkei settles at seven-month high after crossing 10,000
12 Mar 2012
Japan's Nikkei share average surpassed 10,000 to a fresh seven-month high today, before settling at 9948.07, boosted by another robust US jobs report that pointed to a strengthening US economic recovery, even as technical factors pointed to the index heading higher.
Friday's non-farm payrolls data also lifted the dollar as far as 82.64 yen, its highest level in 11 months, which boosted the appeal of Japanese exporters' stocks to investors.
The weaker yen combined with improvement in demand from China and the prospects of lower iron ore prices to allow steelmakers to take the top slot among performing sectors, up 0.8 per cent.
JFE Holdings Inc was up 2 per cent, Kyoei Steel Ltd moved up 1.3 per cent and Kobe Steel Ltd surged 2.3 per cent.
The Nikkei fell 0.2 per cent to 9,948.07, after reaching 10,021.51, its highest since early August, after profit-taking pushed it down.
According to some analysts, despite the fact that the yen did weaken quite considerably over the weekend, it was a little surprising to see there was no follow-through in equities as much today.