TOKYO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index ended marginally higher Thursday as investor sentiment was bolstered by remarks made by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicating that inflation was easing.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average edged up 55.17 points, or 0.20 percent, from Wednesday to close the day at 27,402.05.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, lost 7.06 points, or 0.36 percent, to finish at 1,965.17.

Dealers here said that Powell's dovish remarks about inflation following the central bank's widely expected 0.25-percentage-point rate increase, supported the view the Fed may look to stop hiking its interest rate relatively soon.

Market strategists here said the Fed might go ahead with another rate increase in March, but could halt further increases from May, in a departure from its aggressive monetary policy to curb inflation.

"The tone of Mr. Powell's speech about inflation was surprisingly optimistic. That caused investors to think that the Fed is moving from the phase of slowing rate hikes to halting rate hikes," Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., was quoted as saying.

Heavily-weighted issues gained traction on the news, brokers here said, but U.S. dollar selling leading to the yen's rise weighed on export.

Semiconductor-linked bellwethers buoyed the broader market, with chip-manufacturing equipment maker Tokyo Electron climbing 2.9 percent, while chip-testing device maker Advantest gained 3.7 percent.

Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain, jumped 2.5 percent, with fellow heavyweight SoftBank Group adding 1 percent.

Exporter issues lost ground, however, as a stronger yen negatively impacts their profits made overseas when repatriated and price competitiveness in foreign markets.

Among these, Toyota Motor reversed 1.1 percent, while Nissan Motor lost 1.9 percent. Honda Motor, meanwhile, ended 1.2 percent lower.

Financial issues also came under pressure, with megabank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group weighing on the Topix, closing down 1.4 percent.

The turnover on the penultimate trading day of the week came to 2,893.90 billion yen (22.48 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem

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