Japanese shares rose after U.S. jobs data showed weaker than expected growth, fueling speculation that the Federal Reserve will hold back from increasing borrowing costs this month.
The Topix index advanced for a fourth day at 9:03 a.m., as automakers gained following the yen’s 0.7 percent drop against the dollar on Friday. Exporters contributed the biggest boost to the benchmark equity gauge. The U.S. jobs report is seen as putting pressure on Japanese monetary policy makers to keep the yen weaker by increasing monetary stimulus now that expectations for a September Fed rate hike have been wound back.
| Security | Percent Change | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Topix | +1.2% | 1,356.20 |
| Nikkei 225 | +1.2% | 17,127.27 |
| Yen-Dollar | 0.0% | 103.90 |
“With the dollar stronger and the yen weaker, exporters should be bought,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls climbed 151,000 last month following an upward revision to 275,000 for July, according to the Labor Department. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey was for 180,000 jobs in August. Futures data showed that odds of a Fed rate increase in September stood at 32 percent as of Friday, down from 42 percent a week earlier.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.1 percent. The underlying measure rose 0.4 percent on Friday after falling for three days. U.S. equity markets are closed on Monday for Labor Day.
To contact the reporters on this story: Yuko Takeo in Tokyo at ytakeo2@bloomberg.net, Hideki Sagiike in Tokyo at hsagiike@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeff Sutherland at jsutherlan13@bloomberg.net, Andreea Papuc, Tom Redmond
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