Japanese shares rise but weaker dollar caps gains

Japanese share average tracked a rise in global equities and advanced on Monday, although the dollar’s weakening against the yen capped gains.

The Nikkei ended 0.26 per cent higher at 23,714.88 for its first session of gains in four days.

Index heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp rose as much as 5.8 per cent after the Nikkei business daily reported that the telecoms conglomerate plans to list its mobile-phone business this year in an initial public offering, reports Reuters.

While SoftBank gained, exporters including Tokyo Electron, Komatsu and Suzuki Motor Corp dipped amid the dollar’s depreciation.

Of Tokyo’s 33 sub-indexes, 23 were in positive territory, led by securities and real estate.

The broader Topix added 0.4 per cent to 1,883.90.