Tokyo's Key Nikkei Index Closes Higher

Okyo's key Nikkei 225 index closed higher on Wednesday as investors increasingly took to the sidelines ahead of key US inflation data due later in the day

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th May, 2022 ) :Tokyo's key Nikkei 225 index closed higher on Wednesday as investors increasingly took to the sidelines ahead of key US inflation data due later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.18 percent, or 46.54 points, to close at 26,213.64, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.60 percent, or 11.23 points, to 1,851.15.

Investors were keenly awaiting US consumer price data for any signs of the Federal Reserve's next monetary tightening steps to battle inflation, analysts said.

In late Tokyo trade, some investors started to "buy back after a series of declines in the previous sessions," Okasan Online Securities added.

The Dollar fetched 130.36 Yen in Asian trade, against 130.41 yen in New York on Monday.

Toyota dropped 4.42 percent to 2,082 yen after it posted record net profit and sales but unveiled a cautious forecast for the current year to March 2023.

Other automakers were also lower, with Honda dropping 3.05 percent to 3,247 yen and Nissan closing down 1.46 percent at 499 yen.

Nintendo rallied 3.25 percent to 58,190 yen, a day after it reported a solid net profit for the financial year to March on the strong performance of its blockbuster Switch console.

SoftBank Group was down 0.35 percent at 4,883 yen ahead of its earnings report due on Thursday.

Panasonic ended down 1.86 percent at 1,134 yen, after a report that the electronics giant is planning to build a plant in the United States to produce batteries for electric vehicles, eyeing to supply them to Tesla.

After the market's close, Panasonic reported a net profit of 255.3 billion yen ($1.96 billion) for the year to March 2022, up 54.7 percent on-year.

For the current year, it forecasts a net profit of 260 billion yen.