Japan stocks rise on $186bn stimulus bets www.bbc.com
Japanese stocks are rising on bets the government will unveil a stimulus package that could be double the size initially expected.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is looking to compile a package of at least 20 trillion yen ($186bn; £141bn) according to the Kyodo News agency.
The world's third-largest economy is still trying to emerge from deflation.
Both the benchmark Nikkei 225 and broader Topix indexes rose 1% at the open.
In the currency market, the Japanese yen fell to a six-week low against the US dollar.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% while New Zealand stocks also gained 0.6%.
South Korea's Kospi is trading flat.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng is 0.6% and the Shanghai Composite is up 0.2%.
Malaysia's share market is the only one trading lower after US authorities said the country's state investment fund 1MDB misappropriated billions of dollars.
Published Date:2016-07-21