Japan stocks gain for fifth day as yen falls further

By Laura He, MarketWatch

Reuters

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Japan stocks ended mildly higher on Friday, gaining for a fifth straight session, as the yen’s continued weakness helped support the markets’ advance.

The Nikkei Average /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK -0.39%  rose 0.3%, capping the week with a solid 1.8% gain. The broader Topix Index /zigman2/quotes/210598092/delayed JP:180460 -0.20%  edged up 0.2%.

Meanwhile, the yen /zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled USDJPY -0.0076%  dropped further against the dollar to ¥107.22 compared with ¥107.05 in the previous session. Earlier on Friday, the yen hit ¥107.39 per dollar, its highest level in six years.

Internet and telecom giant SoftBank Corp. /zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed JP:9984 -0.41% , which is a major shareholder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, advanced 2.3% following a 2.9% rally in the previous day. Alibaba Group started a roadshow this week in New York ahead of its widely anticipated U.S. initial public offering.

Media conglomerate Sony Corporation /zigman2/quotes/201361720/delayed JP:6758 +0.67%  added 1.1% to its recent gains, as it had reached a deal with Viacom Inc.  for content partnerships.

Among other leading gainers, camera maker Nikon Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203281219/delayed JP:7731 -7.31%  improved by 1.8%, auto maker Toyota Motor Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203803129/delayed JP:7203 +1.15%  tacked on 1.4%, electronics giant Hitachi Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/203839937/delayed JP:6501 -2.09%  zoomed 0.7% higher, and semiconductor firm Renesas Electronics Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203872935/delayed JP:6723 +4.50%  snagged a 0.3% gain.

In other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI -1.60%  dropped 0.3%, logging a six-session losing string, and posting a weekly loss of 2.6%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO -0.62%  lost 0.3%, with the Australian dollar /zigman2/quotes/210560947/realtime/sampled AUDUSD -1.0781%   falling to 90.48 U.S. cents from 91.03 U.S. cents a day earlier.

However, mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP -0.96%  was up 0.9%, and South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 +0.39%  settled 0.4% higher.

/zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:NIK

NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

22,329.94

-88.21 -0.39%

Volume: 0.00

Aug. 7, 2020 3:15p

/zigman2/quotes/210598092/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:I0000

TOPIX Index

JP : Tokyo Exchange (TOPIX)

1,546.74

-3.14 -0.20%

Volume: 0.00

Aug. 7, 2020 3:00p

/zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled

Add to watchlist USDJPY

Japanese Yen

US : Tullett Prebon

105.9200

-0.0080 -0.0076%

Volume: 0.0000

Aug. 7, 2020 4:59p

/zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:9984

SoftBank Group Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 6,521.00

-27.00 -0.41%

Volume: 15.34M

Aug. 7, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

¥13485.40 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥126.96M

/zigman2/quotes/201361720/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6758

Sony Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 8,525.00

+57.00 +0.67%

Volume: 5.04M

Aug. 7, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

16.13

Dividend Yield

0.59%

Market Cap

¥10412.69 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥72.37M

/zigman2/quotes/203281219/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:7731

Nikon Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 735.00

-58.00 -7.31%

Volume: 6.52M

Aug. 7, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

2.72%

Market Cap

¥269.84 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥34.15M

/zigman2/quotes/203803129/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:7203

Toyota Motor Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 6,878.00

+78.00 +1.15%

Volume: 7.66M

Aug. 7, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

9.47

Dividend Yield

1.16%

Market Cap

¥19025.60 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥81.43M

/zigman2/quotes/203839937/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6501

Hitachi Ltd.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 3,320.00

-71.00 -2.09%

Volume: 2.59M

Aug. 7, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

16.86

Dividend Yield

2.86%

Market Cap

¥3209.98 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥30.84M

/zigman2/quotes/203872935/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6723

Renesas Electronics Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 627.00

+27.00 +4.50%

Volume: 20.69M

Aug. 7, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

38.28

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

¥1078.06 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥36.92M

/zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:HSI

Hang Seng Index

HK : Hong Kong Exchange

24,531.62

-398.96 -1.60%

Volume: 1.61M

Aug. 7, 2020 4:08p

/zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed

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S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index

AU : S&P ASX

6,004.80

-37.40 -0.62%

Volume: 612,541

Aug. 7, 2020 5:26p

/zigman2/quotes/210560947/realtime/sampled

Add to watchlist AUDUSD

Australian Dollar

US : Tullett Prebon

0.7157

-0.0078 -1.0781%

Volume: 0.0000

Aug. 7, 2020 4:59p

/zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:SHCOMP

Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

3,354.04

-32.43 -0.96%

Volume: 40.39B

Aug. 7, 2020 3:01p

/zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed

Add to watchlist KR:SEU

KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,351.67

+9.06 +0.39%

Volume: 812,594

Aug. 7, 2020 3:32p