Japanese Stocks Rise as Investors Bet on U.S. Tariff Exemption
Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday, with investors betting that Washington will exempt Tokyo from new U.S. tariffs after Trade Minister Yoji Muto made a formal request.
The Nikkei 225 gained 0.45%, or 175.20 points, to close at 38,976.37.
The yen weakened as much as 0.8% to 153.68 per dollar, heading for its longest losing streak in more than a month as concerns grew that Japan could be hit by Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
The currency had risen last week on bets of further Bank of Japan interest rate hikes and its appeal as a safe haven.
On the corporate side, Aeon Co.’s (TYO:8267) Aeon Retail unit posted a 1.8% rise in all-store sales in January, while same-store sales rose 2%, boosted by New Year promotions and flu-related demand, marking the 35th straight month of growth in its drugstore business.
Trial Holdings (TYO:141A) reported a 3.6% increase in sales, with customer traffic up 2.5% and spending per visit up 1.1%. Early January sales boosted comparable-store revenue by 12.2% and total sales by 22.3%.
Morinaga & Co. (TYO:2201) saw nine-month profit drop 2.7% to 13.6 billion yen, even as revenue rose 7.8% to 176.58 billion yen. Earnings per share were 152.94 yen.
Source: Bloomberg
