Weaker yen and surveys against Brexit buoy Japan shares

The Tokyo Stock Exchange Monday opened strongly thanks to a weaker yen and investors’ optimism over the latest surveys showing higher possibility that the United Kingdom will vote to remain in the European Union this week.

The benchmark Nikkei opened with a clear upward trend and after one hour of trading it rose 374.33 points, or 2.40 percent, to 15,973.99.

The second index Topix, which groups values of the first section, increased 28.28 points, or 2.26 percent, and stood at 1,279.11.

The US dollar climbed to the upper 104yen level early Monday, an improvement of the greenback compared to last week.

Investors are also driven by recent surveys showing that ‘Brexit’, the term for Britain’s possible exit from the European Union, is losing momentum as the referendum approaches this week.

All sectors especially paper, mining and shipping, recorded gains.