Tokyo stocks rise 1.05% after ECB stimulus move

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks rose 1.05 per cent by the close on Friday after European and US markets rallied on the European Central Bank's announcement of a bigger-than-expected stimulus programme.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended up 182.73 points at 17,511.75, while the Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 0.99 per cent, or 13.79 points, to 1,403.22.

"The value of the ECB's monthly asset-purchase plan was higher than people anticipated," Hitoshi Asaoka, a senior strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking, told Bloomberg News.

"The total value of purchases satisfied the market and stocks are naturally rising around the globe." The European Central Bank said on Thursday it would inject over 1.0 trillion euros into the stagnant eurozone economy.

The announcement of 60 billion euros per month in quantitative easing through September 2016 exceeded market expectations by 10 billion euros and boosted European stocks.

The move came after prices fell in December, stoking fears that the 19-nation eurozone is on the brink of a dangerous deflationary spiral, a situation blamed for weighing on Japan's once-soaring economy.

Sony shares jumped 4.85 per cent to 2,737.0 yen, Toyota rose 1.32 per cent to 7,685.0 yen, while Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing tacked on 0.89 per cent to 42,645.0 yen.

Mobile carrier SoftBank soared 4.24 per cent to 7,355.0 yen after announcing it will merge four subsidiaries.

On forex markets, the dollar eased to 118.32 yen from 118.52 yen in New York.

Across the Atlantic, Wall Street's top indices added 1.4 per cent or more each, rising on a surge in bank and tech shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial average was up 1.48 per cent, the broad-based S&P 500 1.53 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite 1.78 per cent.

AFP