"In the second half of last year, talk was all about whether the U.S. will go back into a recession"
- Andrew Pease, chief investment strategist at Russell Investment Group
Japanese stocks rose on Monday after U.S. companies created more jobs than expected in January and Nikon Corp. together with Oki Electric Industry Co. raised profit forecasts.
The Nikkei 225 advanced 1.1%, or 97.27 points, to 8,929.20, while the broader Topix climbed 1.2%, or 9.16, to 769.85.
"In the second half of last year, talk was all about whether the U.S. will go back into a recession," said Andrew Pease, Sydney-based chief investment strategist for the Asia- Pacific region at Russell Investment Group. "Now I think talk will be about what will be the strength of the recovery in the U.S. That's an important shift in the balance of risk."
Japan's Cabinet Office is to announce change in month-on-month core machinery orders on Thursday. Orders rose 14.8 per cent in November, after declining 6.9 per cent in October.
© Dukascopy Bank