Japan Stocks Cheers Weaker Yen, Cheaper Oil

LOS ANGELES – Japanese stocks racked up fresh gains in early Monday trading, as drops in the yen's value and the price of energy both propelled the Nikkei Stock Average to a 1% advance, extending a 1.2% rally in the index on Friday and putting the benchmark at another seven-year high. Likewise, the broader Topix improved by 1.1%. While energy shares slumped (Inpex Corp. down 1.4%, Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. down 0.4%), transport and utility stocks rallied in the face of the seemingly inexorable funk on the crude-oil market. With Nymex oil futures hitting fresh multiyear lows, airline stocks sprang upward (Japan Airlines Co. up 5.3%, ANA Holdings Inc. up 5%) and shipping lines also saw some upside (Nippon Yusen K.K. up 2.1%, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. up 0.5%). Power companies similarly cheered the cheaper oil prices, with Chubu Electric Power Co. up 3.6%, Kansai Electric Power Co. up 2.4%, and Hokkaido Electric Power Co. up 1.1%. Meanwhile, renewed weakness for the Japanese yen provided an updraft for the forex-sensitive exporters, as the dollar bought �118.85, after trading below the �118 mark in the previous Tokyo stock session. Among the winners, Sony Corp. added 1.9%, Canon Inc. improved by 2.2%, Renesas Electronics Corp. rose 2.8%, Toyota Motor Corp. captured a 1.3% gain, and Mazda Motor Corp. was up 2%.

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