Japan shares rise on weaker yen but U.S. stimulus doubts cap gains

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks edged higher on
Wednesday as some investors bought shares of major exporters on
the back of a slightly weaker yen, although sentiment was
cautious due to a stalemate in talks over additional U.S.
economic stimulus.
The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 ended up 0.41% at 22,843.96,
with the industrial and consumer discretionary sectors leading
gains. The broader Topix .TOPX rose 1.23%.
A weaker yen inflates exporters' earnings when repatriated
from overseas. The yen, which briefly fell to the lowest in
almost three weeks on Wednesday, last traded at 106.74 per
dollar JPY= .
Many investors are closely watching debates in Washington
about economic stimulus, because Republicans and Democrats are
struggling to agree the details of a package needed to support
the world's largest economy.
"Rising Treasury yields cause the yen to weaken against the
dollar, which is normally good for Japanese exporters," said
Ayako Sera, market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
"But markets are struggling to digest recent events because
there is so much uncertainty about the coronavirus."
The largest percentage gainers in the index were
environmental plant manufacturer Ebara Corp 6361.T up 11.4%,
followed by precision parts maker NSK Ltd 6471.T gaining
7.06%, and industrial equipment maker IHI Corp 7013.T up by
5.95%.
The top percentage losers in the index were Internet
commerce firm Rakuten Inc 4755.T down 7.79%, followed by
drugs maker Eisai Co Ltd 4523.T losing 5.29%, and electronic
parts maker Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd 6976.T down by 4.22%.
SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T fell 2.66% as investors booked
profits following its earnings announcement after market hours
on Tuesday. There were 188 advancers on the Nikkei index against 33
decliners.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 1.3 billion, compared with an average of
1.21 billion in the past 30 days.