Reference Rate: Points and Midmorning Trading

reference rate: After opening almost flat, stocks spurted in midmorning trading, helped by a rise in the Shanghai market amid a sense of relief growing after the People's Bank of China set the day's reference rate for the Chinese yuan at 7.0039 to the dollar, brokers said, according to The Japan Times. As the rate represented only a slight depreciation of the yuan, players took it as an indication that the Chinese central bank has no intention of guiding the currency considerably weaker than the dollar, they noted. The 225-issue Nikkei average finished up 76.79 points, or 0.37 percent, at 20,593.35, after losing 68.75 points Wednesday. ; Meanwhile, the Topix index of all first-section issues turned down 1.27 points, or 0.08 percent, to end at 1,498.66 following a 0.70-point rebound the previous day. In the afternoon, both the Nikkei and Topix indexes lost steam amid a lack of fresh buying incentives. Disputes between the two economic superpowers are likely to stay at the center of market attention until the next policy-setting meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve in September, with no major scheduled events in sight, he added. Concerns over the U.S.-China trade friction linger, said Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief market analyst at Capital Partners Securities Co. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.