According to a report from the Wall Street Journal:
Stocks in Tokyo closed at a six-year high Thursday, pacing a broadly higher session across Asia.
The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.8% to 15727.12, its highest level since late 2007. Thursday's gains lofted the index above a previous peak for the year hit in May, the tail end of a breathless run for the index that sent it up 67% in six month's time.
The rally came as the yen continued to weaken against the U.S. dollar, hitting a new six-month low of 102.28 in early Asia trade, its lowest since May 17.
Shares of Japanese exporters climbed on the weaker yen, which helps the competitiveness of their goods abroad. Auto makers Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. rose 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively, while shares of Panasonic Corp. gained 2.8%.
The dollar has climbed nearly 4% against the Japanese currency this month as investors gird for a pullback in the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary easing program and anticipate further stimulus from the Bank of Japan.
"As the market begins to consider the possibility of a Fed taper in December…and further BoJ action likely in the new year, we feel that the current move could be the beginning of the next step change," foreign-exchange strategists at Credit Suisse said in a note to clients.
The investment bank raised its three- and 12-month forecasts for the dollar against the yen to ¥110 and ¥120 respectively, from ¥95 and ¥115 previously.
Elsewhere in the region, Chinese stocks traded higher after Asia's biggest economy reported a 15% increase in October industrial profits, outpacing a 13.5% increase the previous month. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.8%.
Stocks on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost steam in the final hour of trade, closing flat as investors took money off the table ahead of a market holiday in the U.S.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed flat and Korea's Kospi index rose 0.8%
