Shares in Tokyo gain to 15-year high on weak yen, thin Asian trade

Investing.com - Shares in Tokyo gained to a 15-year peak on Friday as investors continued to bet on a weaker yen and in thin trade with many other markets closed to mark the Lunar New Year

The Nikkei 225 rose 0.32% to 18,323 in morning trade.

Record stimulus from the Bank of Japan is helping drive local stocks as the Government Pension Investment Fund increases its allocation to equities.

Earlier, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Friday that aggressive via massive purchases of Japanese government bonds is not causing any problems in the market.

Kuroda told the Lower House Budget Committee, "So far I don't see any problems about implementing the quantitative and qualitative easing."

By absorbing nearly all of the new government debt in the secondary market every month, the BoJ has kept long-term interest rates at record lows, but also reduced liquidity in the JGB market.

"At this point, I don't think QQE will cause any problems in the JGB market but we are watching the market closely," he said.

The BoJ launched aggressive easing in April 2013 aimed at overcoming years of deflation and anchoring 2% inflation in about two years from then.

But the collapse of crude oil prices last year has clouded the prospect of a two-year time frame.

Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Technology, Basic Materials and Health Care sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Oil & Gas and Telecommunications sectors led shares lower.

At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.24%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.11%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.37%.

Also overnight, a Greek request that included a pledge to maintain "fiscal balance" for a six-month period, in order to give it time to reach a new agreement on growth over the next four years with its partners in the euro zone has so far not been enough to secure continued loans, Reuters reported.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said it was "not a substantial proposal for a solution" and did not meet the criteria agreed on at the euro group meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday.

The European Commission had earlier welcomed the bailout extension request, saying it could pave the way for compromise and stability in the euro zone.

Earlier Thursday, the minutes of the European Central Bank's January meeting showed that the Governing Council "broadly shared" the view that quantitative easing was needed.