TOKYO, July 15 ― Japanese stocks rose, with the Topix index extending yesterday’s rally, as tyremakers and insurance companies led the advance before the central bank completes a two-day policy meeting today.
Bridgestone Corp led tyremakers higher, rising 3.1 per cent. MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc gained 1.7 per cent. Honda Motor Co, which gets 47 per cent of its revenue in North America, rose 1.8 per cent as the yen held yesterday’s loss.
The Topix gained 0.8 per cent to 1,275.62 as of 9.29am in Tokyo after climbing 0.8 per cent yesterday. All 33 industry groups advanced. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.7 per cent to 15,402.25. The yen traded little changed at 101.558 per dollar after slipping 0.2 per cent yesterday. In the US, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen addresses senators today amid speculation over the outlook for interest rates.
“Almost nobody expects the BOJ to change its policy today,” said Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co in Tokyo. “The market lacks catalysts today as investors await Yellen’s testimony.”
The Bank of Japan will maintain the pace of its monthly bond-buying today, according to all 34 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Thirty-two per cent of economists in a separate survey forecast the BOJ will expand stimulus on October 31.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed today. The equity measure gained 0.5 per cent yesterday as Citigroup Inc rallied on better-than-forecast earnings and Internet shares rebounded.
Yellen will deliver her semi-annual monetary policy testimony to the Senate Banking Committee today and to the House Committee on Financial Services tomorrow.
The Topix traded at 1.23 times book value yesterday compared with 2.75 for the S&P 500 and 1.86 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. ― Bloomberg
