Japanese stocks closed higher thanks to gains on Wall Street

Japanese stocks closed higher on Monday, supported by the rise of Wall Street in the last session, and the stocks of technology and energy companies topped the gainers, while the market was affected by the decline in stocks of banks and insurance companies.

The Nikkei index rose 0.65 percent to close at 26,405.87 points, while the broader Topix index rose 0.24 percent to 1,902.52 points.

“Japanese stocks rose thanks to the rise of US stocks at the end of last week, but trading is very quiet because most of the dealers in the United States and Europe are on vacation,” said Shuji Hosui, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities.

The increase in oil prices pushed the index of exploration companies up 2.5 percent, to become the biggest gainer among the 33 sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Inpex shares jumped 2.53 percent.

The index of crude refiners rose 1.33 percent, with Idemitsu Kosan rising 2.81 percent.

The banking sector index fell 1.35 percent, after rising more than 10 percent this month on expectations of improved earnings after the central bank last week allowed the 10-year government bond yield to rise to 0.5 percent last week from 0.25 percent. The yield on the Bank of Japan’s ten-year bonds was 0.445 percent in its latest trading.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 2.21 percent and Rezuna Holdings fell 2.75 percent.

The insurance sector index fell 1.37 percent.