Reply #18: Tokyo stocks rise on lower-than-expected CPI rise

[Ghost Dog]

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/061201/kyodo/d8lnthi80.html

(Kyodo) _ Tokyo stocks ended higher Friday as a slightly lower-than-expected gain in the Japanese consumer price index eased worries over the possibility of a rate hike by the Bank of Japan anytime soon.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 47.45 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 16,321.78 after rising to a three-week intraday high of 16,376.30. The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 1.87 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,604.90.

Early in the morning, the government said Japan's CPI rose 0.1 percent in October from a year ago, a tad below the average market projection of a 0.2 percent increase.

Tokyo shares reacted favorably to the CPI data, expanding their recent gains. But they fluctuated in a narrow range in the afternoon amid mixed currents of profit-taking and dip-buying.

"The better-than-expected CPI showing helped boost shares," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, head of the equity planning and administration department at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co.

He added, however, that trading unrelated to the economic news, such as bargain-hunting and profit-taking, accounted for the bulk of the day's deals.

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