Nikkei on a roll, hits 15-month high

Japan's Nikkei stock index climbed to a 15-month high Monday as a weaker yen boosted exporters while shares in troubled Japan Airlines Corp. surged 31 percent from a record low on hopes for extra government funding. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 108.35 points, or 1 percent, to 10,654.79 on the first trading day of the year. Monday's close marked the highest since Oct. 3, 2008 when the Nikkei index finished at 10,938.14. The broader Topix added 0.9 percent to 915.75. "Investors chased gains in exporters as the yen remained weak," said Masatoshi Sato, market analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. Ltd. A softening yen helps Japanese exporters as it boosts the value of their repatriated profits and makes their goods more competitive by price in overseas markets. The dollar rose to 93.07 yen Monday from 93 in New York late Friday after spending a large part of November and December below the 90 yen level. Among key shares, money-losing Japan Airlines, Asia's biggest airline, surged 31 percent to 88 yen Monday after the Japanese government came up with additional financing for the troubled airline. Shares in the struggling airline, which is undergoing major restructuring, plunged to a record low of 67 yen on growing bankruptcy fears on Dec. 30, the final day of trading last year. But Japanese transport minister Seiji Maehara told reporters Sunday the state-owned Development Bank of Japan will double its credit line for Japan Airlines Corp. to 200 billion yen ($2.2 billion). That should be enough to keep the airline afloat while the government works out details of a bailout for the cash-strapped carrier, government officials said. Among blue chips, Toyota Motor Corp. — the world's No. 1 automaker — rose 0.3 percent to 3,890 yen. Honda Motor Co. added 1.9 percent to 3,170 yen. Sony Corp. gained 2.3 percent to 2,731 yen. Panasonic Corp. increased 1.0 percent to 1,338 yen. The euro fell to $1.4277 from $1.4323. The Tokyo Stock Exchange also launched a new high-speed trading system Monday, the "Arrowhead" system, which can process trades in five milliseconds. That is 600 times faster than the two to three-seconds required until now.