Tokyo’s Nikkei closes up more than 1.5%

Monitoring Desk

TOKYO: Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index jumped more than 1.5 percent Thursday as rallies on Wall Street and a recovery in oil prices tempted investors back into the game following recent declines.

The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.52 percent, or 291.49 points, to close at 19,429.44, while the broader Topix index gained 1.36 percent, or 19.08 points, to 1,425.98.

Tokyo stocks opened higher and maintained early gains as investors hunted for bargains following a three-day losing streak, brokers said.

“Investors were encouraged by gains in US stocks and stabilised oil prices,” said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

Traders are closely watching the impact of coronavirus on Japanese firms as earnings season gets underway, added Horiuchi, noting that “fairly negative figures from many companies have already been factored in.”

Investors are also eyeing the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting next week, with local media reporting the central bank is considering further loosening monetary easing policy to alleviate the virus impact on the world’s third-top economy.

The dollar fetched 107.76 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 107.71 yen in New York.

In Tokyo, energy firms shot up with oil explorer Inpex up 6.00 percent to 651.2 yen and Petroleum Exploration higher by 5.57 percent at 1,819 yen.

Many blue-chip shares gained ground as Toyota rose 1.07 percent to 6,570 yen with Sony up 0.26 percent at 6,761 yen.

Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing increased 0.51 percent to 48,550 yen but Nintendo lost 0.68 percent to 46,660 yen. (AFP/APP)