Thursday, March 28

Japan’s Nikkei extends gains to fifth day, tech leads way


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TOKYO — Japan’s Nikkei share average rose for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, with technology stocks leading the charge after major Wall Street indexes jumped overnight on robust corporate earnings.

By 0217 GMT, the Nikkei share average had advanced 2.3% to 27,592.44. The broader Topix gained 1.93% to 1,939.43.

US stocks closed sharply higher on Tuesday as more companies joined big banks in reporting earnings that beat forecasts, offering respite to investors worried about higher inflation and a tightening Fed denting the corporate bottomline.

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“The market was driven by Wall Street’s strong finish. There were no market moving cues in Japan,” said Koichi Kurose, chief strategist, Resona Asset Management.

“If there will be any catalyst in Japan, that would be Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida’s policy, which will depend on how the power within the Liberal Democratic Party shapes up after the death of (former prime minister Shinzo) Abe.”

Technology heavyweights advanced, with chip-related Tokyo Electron and Advantest jumping 5.07% and 5.4%, respectively.

Technology investor SoftBank Group rose 2.4%. Air-conditioning maker Daikin Industries gained 3.29%.

Japan Airlines rose 1.96% even as a report said the airliner would relocate about 3,000 employees to other businesses, such as low-cost carrier operations, as travel demand remains weak.

Of the Nikkei components, 216 rose against eight decliners.

Retailers Seven & i Holdings and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings lost 0.56% and 0.29%, respectively. Heavy machinery maker IHI Corp slipped 1.63%.

(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)



financialpost.com