Nikkei rebounds, but suffers first monthly fall in 10 months

Reuters: Japan’s Nikkei average recovered some lost ground on Friday, providing some relief from the recent rout, but the market still posted its first monthly fall in 10 months.

The Nikkei, which plunged 5.2% to a five-week low on Thursday, gained 1.4% to 13,774.54 as weak US data overnight eased concerns that the Federal Reserve would soon start unwinding its monthly US$ 85 billion asset purchases.

Friday’s gain, however, was not enough to extend the benchmark’s monthly winning streak to a 10th straight month, which would have been its longest such run since 1972. It was down 0.6% in May. The broader Topix added 0.1% to 1,135.78 on Friday.