Japan Stocks Chase Rising Dollar Upward; Retailers Mixed After Data

Japanese stocks boogied higher in early Thursday action, as the yen plumbed fresh multiyear lows and U.S. shares offered a strong lead. The Nikkei Average was 0.6% higher, hunting what would be its 10th straight winning session, while the Topix improved by 0.5%. The dollar marched ever higher, buying �123.75 after hitting its best level since the summer of 2007 before the open of Tokyo trade. The globally exposed blue chips followed the dollar upward, as TDK Corp. rose 2.6%, Japan Display Inc. and Renesas Electronics Corp. added 1.4% each, Nissan Motor Co. climbed 1.5%, and Toyota Motor Corp. improved by 1.1%. Shares of Sony Corp. traded 0.9% higher after the company announced the purchase of U.S. startup Optical Archive Inc. Retailers were mixed, meanwhile, after April data showed a robust 5% gain for retail sales that nonetheless fell short of a 5.4% rise projected in a Reuters survey of economists. Among the largest names, Fast Retailing Co. moved 0.4% higher, and Isetan Mitsukoshi added 0.7%, but J. Front Retailing Co. lost 0.6%, and e-commerce major Rakuten Inc. fell 2.4%. Elsewhere on the market, stock in Tokyo Electric Power Co. rallied 4.2% and shares of Tokai Holdings Corp. rose 1%, as a Jiji Press report said the two had "basically agreed" on a tie-up in retail electricity and gas sales.