Japan’s Stocks Gaining Ground in Asia

Stocks in Japan were leading gains in Asia early on Monday, after Wall Street closed at its highest level so far this year on Friday.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.6% to 17,206.34 points in morning trade.

Investor sentiment in Japan was given a boost as official machinery orders data showed a 15% jump in January from December, beating estimates.

Japan’s machinery orders are considered a way of measuring capital spending in the next six to nine months.

“Today’s data on machinery orders suggest that capital spending will continue to expand this quarter,” said Japan economist Marcel Thieliant.

“While a near-term slowdown is likely, we expect the recovery in capital expenditure to resume towards the end of this year,” he added.

Meanwhile, Japan’s central bank commences its two-day meeting later.