Tokyo Stocks Close Slightly Higher With Investors Awaiting U.S. Job Data

Tokyo stocks finished higher Friday on favorable earnings results from major Japanese companies, but gains were capped as market participants waited for U.S. jobs data for July due out later in the day to make decisions

TOKYO (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Aug, 2021 ) :Tokyo stocks finished higher Friday on favorable earnings results from major Japanese companies, but gains were capped as market participants waited for U.S. jobs data for July due out later in the day to make decisions.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed 91.92 points, or 0.33 percent, higher from Thursday at 27,820.04.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended 0.36 point, or 0.02 percent, higher at 1,929.34.

Trading volume on the main section increased to 991.69 million shares from Thursday's 955.27 million shares.

With a batch of positive earnings results from major domestic firms and a rebound of the Hang Seng index in the Chinese Hong Kong market in the afternoon, the Nikkei index moved in positive territory for most of the day, brokers said.

However, the gains were limited since investors waited for the release of U.S. nonfarm payroll data and remained concerns over the rapid spread of COVID-19 infections in Japan.

Tokyo, the host city of the ongoing Olympic Games, confirmed a record 5,042 daily COVID-19 infections on Thursday, exceeding 5,000 cases for the first time.

"Short-term investors adjusted their positions ahead of the key U.S. jobs data," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co.

By the close of play, pulp and paper, oil and coal product, and precision instrument sectors were major gainers. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones 1,055 to 1,025 on the First Section, while 109 ended unchanged.

After electric wire maker Fujikura and precision instrument maker Nikon on Thursday revised upward their earnings forecasts for the current business year through next March, their stocks surged 16.3 percent and 8.4 percent correspondingly.

Bucking the upward trend, marine transportation shares were weak due to concerns that the spread of the highly contagious virus variants will negatively affect trade. Among them, Kawasaki Kisen dropped 4.3 percent, and Nippon Yusen declined 0.5 percent.