Thursday, 03 September 2015 10:46
TOKYO: Tokyo shares gained 1.42 percent on Thursday morning after Wall Street rebounded overnight on rising optimism over the US economy and with volatile Chinese markets closed for a long weekend.
The Nikkei 225 index at Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 257.58 points to 18,352.98 by the lunch break, while the Topix index of all first section shares climbed 1.81 percent, or 26.56 points, to 1,492.55.
Deep worries over the Chinese outlook remained, but general confidence in the US economy lifted Wall Street, boosting optimism elsewhere.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished Wednesday up 1.82 percent, the broader S&P 500 gained 1.83 percent, while the Nasdaq added 2.46 percent.
Roller-coaster Chinese markets are closed Thursday and Friday as the country holds World War II Victory Day celebrations.
“One modest positive today is the fact China is offline for its Victory Day commemorations,” Chris Weston, Melbourne-based chief markets strategist at IG Ltd, told Bloomberg News.
“So traders and investors will be focused on domestic data, valuations and trying to understand how to navigate these crazy markets.”
Measured optimism returned to the market, for the time being at least, as the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book showed steady US economic growth.
The regional economic survey pointed to modest to moderate growth across most of the central bank’s 12 districts, with survey respondents optimistic about the coming months.
“Respondents in most sectors across districts expected growth to continue at its recent pace,” it said.
All eyes are on the US central bank as its policymakers are scheduled to gather in two weeks for a meeting where they may decide to hike key interest rates.
Federal Reserve vice chair Stanley Fischer said at the weekend a hike in borrowing rates was still possible in September.
Toyota jumped 4.12 percent to 7,304 yen, banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ rose 0.51 percent to 771 yen while market heavyweight Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo chain, slipped 0.37 percent to 48,220 yen.
In forex markets, the dollar bought 120.58 yen, up from 120.32 in New York.
