TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose Friday on late bargain-hunting in quiet pre-holiday trade after US stocks resumed their climb on the passage of President Donald Trump’s long-awaited tax cut plan.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.16 percent, or 36.66 points, to close at 22,902.76. Over the week, the index jumped 1.55 percent.
The broader Topix index was up 0.35 percent Friday, or 6.47 points, at 1,829.08, with a weekly gain of 1.99 percent.
The Nikkei index opened slightly lower as investors cashed in while many investors were on the sidelines ahead of Christmas holidays.
“But players were buying on dips in the afternoon, which helped sustain the market’s downside support,” said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.
Wall Street broke a two-day losing streak on Thursday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending up 0.2 percent at 24,782.29 points.
US investors have viewed the controversial $1.5 trillion tax overhaul as President Trump’s most important priority.
But now it is near to being signed into law, investors may look to take profits out of the buoyant market, analysts said.
“Tokyo trade is seen static with few market-moving events, while foreign investors, who account for a large portion of Tokyo trade, are absent from trade ahead of the Christmas holidays,” said SBI Securities in a commentary.
The news that Catalan separatists won a snap regional poll Thursday in Spain did not immediately upset the foreign currency exchange market in early Asian trade.
In Tokyo, Uniqlo chain operator Fast Retailing gained 0.80 percent to 44,960 yen following a 1.41 percent drop on Thursday.
Pharmaceutical firm Eisai plunged 14.84 percent to 6,061 yen after it said its BAN2401 treatment for Alzheimer’s disease failed initial effectiveness tests.
Kobe Steel was down 2.35 percent at 1,036 yen, after it said three executives were aware of data-falsifying in the scandal over quality control issues.
Automakers were mixed, with Toyota slipping 0.08 percent at 7,282 yen while its rival Nissan traded up 0.31 percent at 1,120.5 yen.
The dollar fetched 113.31 yen in Asian trade, against 113.30 yen in New York late Thursday.
Source: Brecorder.com
