JPY weakness powers Nikkei to highest since December 4
|- Japan's benchmark equity index Nikkei is currently trading at the highest level since December 4.
- Investors seem to have taken a heart from the weakness in the yen.
Japanese stocks seem to have picked up a bid, tracking USD/JPY's rise to 1.5-month highs above 112.00.
Nikkei - Japan's benchmark equity index - gapped higher at 22,123 earlier today and is now trading at 22,173, the highest level since Dec. 4.
The market breadth is extremely positive - 212 of 225 stocks that make up the index are currently flashing green with exporter issues leading the way higher. Names like Softbank Group, Yaskawa Electric are up 4 percent.
More importantly, the index is now hovering well above the crucial 200-day moving average (MA) line of 21,886. That average is widely considered a barometer of the long-term trend. As a result, technical buying may emerge later this week if the index closes today above the longer duration average.
That looks likely as the USD/JPY pair closed well above 111.82 (April 5 high) on Friday, establishing a higher low and higher highs pattern. Put simply, the path of least resistance for the anti-risk JPY is likely to the downside.
Nikkei Technical Levels
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