October 10, 2024 at 02:11 am EDT
(MT Newswires) -- Japanese shares gained on Thursday, buoyed by news of a 500 billion yuan funding scheme from China's central bank aimed at bolstering capital markets.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.26%, or 102.93 points, to close at 39,380.89.
China's People's Bank said eligible securities firms, fund managers, and insurers can apply for the scheme, allowing them to swap assets like bonds and stock ETFs for highly liquid securities such as treasury bonds.
Domestically, nearly 86% of Japanese households expect prices to rise within a year, according to a Bank of Japan survey, indicating strong inflation expectations. However, the figure edged down from 87.5% in the previous survey.
Meanwhile, Keiichi Ishii, leader of the Komeito party, called for extending utility and fuel subsidies as the government plans to end them by year-end.
In economic data, Japan's outstanding loans climbed 2.7% year-on-year to 624.2 trillion yen in September, with major and regional banks holding 546.6 trillion yen, up 3.1%. Producer prices remained steady, but import and export prices fell, driven by declining energy costs.
On the corporate front, Idemitsu Kosan (TYO:5019) and Mitsui Chemicals (TYO:4183) have entered the design phase to consolidate their Chiba ethylene complexes, after a completed feasibility study.
Aeon (TYO:8267) reported a 76.5% plunge in profit to 5.49 billion yen for the six months to Aug. 31, with EPS dropping to 6.40 yen from 27.25 yen, citing weaker retail performance.

Sumber : MT Newswires