Tokyo’s Nikkei closes at one-month high

Monitoring Desk

TOKYO: Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index jumped more than 3.1 percent to a one-month high on Tuesday as hopes for US measures to jump-start its virus-hit economy encouraged investors.

The Nikkei 225 index rose 3.13 percent, or 595.41 points, to close at 19,638.81, the highest since March 10.

The broader Topix index gained 1.96 percent, or 27.60 points, to 1,433.51.

“Players bought on dips, expressing hopes for a US plan to reopen its economy,” said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

US President Donald Trump has stressed he wants to open the world’s largest economy as swiftly as possible and is expected to announce a plan this week on how to jump-start stalled business.

Buying accelerated in late trading due to gains in US stock index futures as well as better-than-expected Chinese trade figures, brokers said.

“But today’s gain does not guarantee any clear sign of steady recovery as the market is still subject to any big news about coronavirus,” Horiuchi added.

The dollar fetched 107.65 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 107.75 yen in New York late Monday.

In Tokyo, SoftBank Group jumped 5.23 percent to 4,420 yen despite forecasting a $7 billion net loss for the year ended March due to the negative impact of coronavirus and losses related to WeWork.

“Players have already factored in SoftBank’s unfavourable figures,” Horiuchi said.

“SoftBank faced early selling pressure but players actively bought back in late trading,” he added.

Hich-tech shares were also in the green with semiconductor-testing equipment maker Advantest gaining 6.43 percent to 4,715 yen and industrial robot maker Fanuc up 3.76 percent to 15,145 yen.

Blue-chip shares gained ground as Toyota rose 3.44 percent to 6,750 yen and Sony climbed 1.67 percent to 6,616 yen. (AFP/APP)