, Japan

Mizuho net profit jumps 35%

Boosted by a rally in Japanese stocks.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc, Japan's second-biggest bank by assets, said its net profit rose to US$2.5 billion in its fiscal first quarter from US$1.9 billion year-on-year.

Mizuho kept its full-year net profit forecast unchanged at US$5.1 billion, down 10.7%.

Net interest income from Mizuho's core banking unit also increased from a year earlier, while profits from JGB trading plunged.

Japanese financial institutions are benefiting from a surge in domestic share prices on the back of expectations for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies.