Tokyo: Nikkei edges up as yen's surge slows, financials gain

[TOKYO] Japan's Nikkei share average erased earlier losses and edged up on Monday as a surge in the yen slowed.

The Nikkei gained 0.4 per cent to 16,635.77 points, after falling to as low as 16,319.15.

Financials lead the way, with the banking subindex climbing 3.3 per cent.

Shares of financial companies have been buoyant after the Bank of Japan refrained on Friday from charging more interest to institutions for parking their excess reserves at the central bank.

As part of its monetary easing the BOJ did opt to increase the amount of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which has helped underpin the broader equity market.

The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 nudged up 0.04 per cent to 11,885.15 and the broader Topix dipped 0.1 per cent to 1,321.83.

REUTERS