Japanese shares will likely see more gains next week amid expectations that the Bank of Japan may follow suit after its US and European counterparts took action to bolster their economies. "The Tokyo market is likely to remain bullish next week after sentiment improved following the Fed and European decisions," said Hirokazu Fujiki, strategist at Okasan Securities.
On Friday, Tokyo stocks rose 1.83 percent after the US central bank announced a $40 billion-a-month asset buying programme focused on boosting jobs in the United States, where the unemployment rate sits at 8.1 percent. The move comes after the European Central Bank launched a new programme to buy unlimited amounts of heavily indebted countries' sovereign bonds in a bid to bring down their borrowing costs and prop up the battered euro.
"The combined actions are giving the markets a much-needed sense of stability and should help keep share prices supported for at least the next several sessions, if not longer," said Hiroyuki Fukunaga, CEO of asset manager Investrust.
Brokers said the decisions made by the European and US monetary authorities will likely pressure the Bank of Japan to implement its own stimulus steps when it meets September 18-19. The Tokyo market is also paying attention to the re-listing of Japan Airlines (JAL), scheduled for Wednesday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
JAL, which exited bankruptcy last year, has said its offering will raise 663 billion yen ($8.5 billion) by selling 175 million shares at 3,790 yen each in the world's second-biggest share sale this year after Facebook.
"If the price goes above 4,000 yen, the re-listing would be another positive factor for the Tokyo market," Fujiki said. In the week to September 14, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 3.24 percent, or 287.74 points, to 9,159.39.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues gained 2.95 percent, or 21.71 points, to 756.88. Tokyo financial markets will be closed on Monday for a national holiday.
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