TOKYO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index extended gains for a seventh straight day on Monday as the yen's retreat against the U.S. dollar gave exporters a boost.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average edged up 21.31 points, or 0.07 percent, from Friday to close the day at 28,514.78.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, gained 8.25 points, or 0.41 percent, to finish at 2,026.97.
Following hawkish remarks made by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Friday on the U.S. bank continuing to hike its interest rates, the U.S. dollar gained on its Japanese counterpart, analysts here explained.
Overall, the market is strong, supported by the yen's weakness, which lifted automakers. And banks tracked sharp gains of U.S. bank shares on Friday," Jun Morita, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management, was quoted as saying.
"But I would say the market is stronger than it should be because there are signs of an economic slowdown going forward," Morita added.
While a weak yen is a boon for companies with a broad exposure to overseas markets as their profits are increased when repatriated and price competitiveness enhances in foreign markets.
Further possible rate hikes by the Fed have sparked concern. This is due to long-running fears over the health of the U.S. economy, the fallout of the aggressive rate hikes, and its direction toward recession, following a slew of downbeat economic data recently, investment analysts said.
Investors have started speculating that the Fed may not halt its interest rate hikes after an expected 0.25-percentage-point raise next month. "It seems difficult to tame inflation in the United States," Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, was quoted as saying.
Among exporters finding favor on the yen's retreat, Hitachi added 1.3 percent, while Nissan Motor accelerated 1.4 percent, and Toyota Motor advanced 1.4 percent.
Financial stocks followed their U.S. peers higher, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group rising 2.5 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 2.6 percent.
Shipping lines performed well, with Kawasaki Kisen rising 3.5 percent, to become a notable winner on Tokyo Stock Exchange's sub-indexes.
Cosmetics maker Shiseido lost ground, however, dropping 2 percent, while Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing dropped 2.7 percent, following the retailer's surge last week on its solid earnings and outlook.
By the close of play, marine transportation, rubber product and bank issues comprised those that gained the most.
The turnover on the Prime Market on the first trading day of the week came to 2,222.47 billion yen (16.59 billion U.S. dollars). ■
