TOKYO/HONG KONG/SHANGHAI/SYDNEY (dpa-AFX) – On the most important stock markets in the Far East, the Nikkei 225 climbed to its highest level in 33 years on Monday. In early trading, the Japanese leading index initially continued its strong run since the beginning of the month and rose by up to 0.80 percent to 33,853.46 points. As the trend progressed, the momentum waned and investors cashed in. In the end there was a loss of 0.59 percent to 33,388.03 points.
At the close of trading, weak auto stocks, among other things, pulled the Nikkei into the red. These suffered from the strong yen, which tends to make exports more expensive and thus weigh on domestic corporate profits.
Since the beginning of the year, the Nikkei has gained almost 28 percent. During this period, the yen lost a lot of value against the US dollar and the euro, thereby supporting the country’s important export economy. Solid corporate profits and the reforms carried out by the Tokyo Stock Exchange with regard to the principles and regulations for good corporate governance have also helped the stock market barometer.
The Chinese stock exchanges, on the other hand, have been in the red since the beginning of the year. At the beginning of the week they recovered somewhat. The CSI 300, which tracks the share prices of the largest companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, gained 0.23 percent. The Hang Seng Index (Hang Seng) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region recently climbed by 1.72 percent.
In Sydney, the leading index S&P ASX 200 closed 0.13 percent up./la/nas