Tokyo stocks ended 0.23 percent higher Monday following last week's gains on Wall Street, despite poor Japanese growth data. The key Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 36.43 points to 15,705.11, while the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.42 percent, or 5.43 points, to 1,298.64. The S&P 500 rose 0.50 percent Friday to a record 2,007.71 despite a weaker-than-expected jobs report for August. The Dow rose 0.40 percent to 17,137.36, narrowly missing a record of its own.
"US markets perceive data with optimism. Even the bad jobs figures have been interpreted as a likely sign that the Fed won't speed up its stimulus tapering programme any time soon," said SMBC Friend Securities strategist Toshihiko Matsuno. "On the Japan side, the poor GDP revision also leads expectations for more Bank of Japan assistance to keep the economy going.
Official data Monday showed Japan's gross domestic product shrank more than estimated in April-June, contracting 1.8 percent from the previous quarter - the worst performance since the 2011 quake and tsunami disaster. The Nikkei also got support from heavyweight SoftBank shares, which rose 2.14 percent to 7,628.0 yen on expectations it would benefit from the huge US listing of Chinese online giant Alibaba. The Japanese Internet giant and mobile carrier has a 34 percent stake in Alibaba Group Holdings, which unveiled plans Friday to raise up to $24.3 billion in what could be the biggest stock flotation in history. Sony inched up 0.07 percent to 2,017.5 yen, but Toyota fell 0.13 percent to 6,107.0 yen.
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