TOKYO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index closed higher Friday, following gains made on Wall Street overnight, on speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve may opt to skip or ease its interest rate hike at its meeting next week.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 623.90 points, or 1.97 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 32,265.17.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, gained 32.82 points, or 1.50 percent, to finish at 2,224.32.

Local brokers said the market mood got a boost from all three major U.S. indexes closing higher overnight on speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve could ease or skip a round of interest rate hikes at the conclusion of its policy-setting meeting next week.

They highlighted that recent data showing that U.S. weekly jobless claims had surged to a year-and-a-half high had raised the prospect of the Fed choosing not to roll out another aggressive rate hike this month, as the jobless claims point to an economic slowdown.

Wall Street's gains overnight encouraged investors to snap-up Japanese equities on dips following the market's recent declines, market strategists said.

"The rebound in U.S. stocks strengthened the appetite for dip-buying after Japanese stocks experienced significant declines over the past two days," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co., was quoted as saying.

Jun Morita, general manager of the research department at Chibagin Asset Management, explained that despite the recent declines and the possibility of more profit-taking next week, the Nikkei could stand to gain further next week.

"The Nikkei fell in two-straight sessions and that made investors feel comfortable in buying stocks. There is a possibility that the index will rise further next week," Morita was quoted as saying.

Following the tech-heavy Nasdaq's overnight rise, heavily-weighted technology issues here found favor, with chip-testing equipment maker Advantest climbing 2.9 percent, while air-conditioner maker Daikin Industries jumped 3.8 percent.

Electronics manufacturer Kyocera gained 1.5 percent, while Sony Group ended the day 2.1 percent higher.

Trading houses were among the day's top performers, helping to buoy the broader market, with Marubeni leaping 4.6 percent, while Sojitz added 4.6 percent.

Drugmakers got a boost, with Astellas Pharma gaining 1.1 percent, following news Japan's health ministry had greenlit the use of a new drug developed by the firm to treat advanced stages of gastric and gastroesophageal cancers.

While Uniqlo clothing chain owner Fast Retailing climbed 4.6 percent and lifted the broader market, industrial machinery maker Mitsui E&S dropped 1.8 percent to drag the most.

By the close of play, wholesale trade, electric power and gas, and pharmaceutical issues comprised those that gained the most.

The turnover on the Prime Market on the final trading day of the week came to 4,360.82 billion yen (31.23 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)