Japan’s Nikkei 225 Rises to Highest Since April on BOJ
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Japanese stocks rose, with the benchmark equity gauge closing at the highest level in seven months, on speculation the opposition may win next month’s elections and press the central bank for more aggressive monetary easing.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and other lenders climbed as minutes of the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting showed it will continue with powerful monetary easing. Toyota Motor Corp., Asia’s biggest carmaker by market value that gets a quarter of its sales in North America, added 1.7 percent after U.S. consumer spending increased over the Thanksgiving weekend. Kansai Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co. paced gains among utilities on a report they will seek rate increases.