Tokyo stocks rose Monday, with the Nikkei index up for a sixth trading day to end at a fresh 34-year high, as robust retailer earnings spurred hopes for solid performances by other Japanese firms.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 324.68 points, or 0.91 percent, from Friday at 35,901.79, its highest close since February 1990. The broader Topix index finished 30.37 points, or 1.22 percent, higher at 2,524.60, its highest finish since March 1990.
On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by marine transportation, securities house and electric power and gas issues.
The U.S. dollar moved little around the 145 yen line in Tokyo amid a lack of trading incentives, dealers said.
The Nikkei benchmark briefly topped the 36,000 line and ended at a 34-year high for the fifth consecutive day on buying fueled by favorable earnings from retailers on Friday.
The index added around 2,600 points since Jan. 5 driven by easing concerns about a stronger yen, which reduces Japanese exporters' overseas profits when repatriated, amid anticipation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will start cutting its key interest rate this year.
The yen remained weaker than around 140 to 141 to the dollar, which was projected by many major Japanese exporters for this fiscal year ending March, analysts said.
The market was also supported by Japan's revamped NISA tax-free stock investment program, launched this year and designed to encourage a shift from savings to investments in the equities market, analysts said.
"Recent gains have been an advertisement for the NISA system, and are likely to have had the effect of making even more people feel they have to start buying equities sooner," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, equity strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities Co.
