Tokyo Shares End Higher After Long Weekend

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jan, 2023 ) :Tokyo stocks closed higher Tuesday, marking a three-day winning streak as investors returned from a long weekend to catch-up with the previous day's rally across Asian markets.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.78 percent, or 201.71 points, to 26,175.56, while the broader Topix index rose 0.27 percent, or 5.12 points, to 1,880.88.

"Tokyo shares surged shortly after the opening bell, with major shares and semiconductor issues attracting buyers," IwaiCosmo Securities said.

Investors were cheered by US data Friday indicating the key services sector was contracting and wage growth slowed last month, tempering expectations of more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

While the Fed will likely maintain its tightening course, "risks of more hikes in the spring are easing as optimism is growing that wage pressures will continue to drop", said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

The Dollar stood at 131.87 yen, against 131.80 Yen Monday in New York but sharply down from 134.01 yen on Friday in Tokyo.

Investors were also awaiting a congressional address by Fed chair Jerome Powell and the release of US inflation data later this week.

Before the opening bell, Japanese government data showed household spending in November was down 1.2 percent on-year.

Other official data showed that Tokyo's core consumer prices, excluding volatile fresh food, hit a 40-year high of four percent in December.

Semiconductor-related shares surged. Tokyo Electron, which makes tools to build chips, jumped 3.08 percent to 42,440 yen, while Advantest, which makes tests for semiconductors, surged 1.88 percent to 8,670 yen.

Global tech investor SoftBank Group jumped 2.36 percent to 5,953 yen after the Financial Times reported that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has revived efforts to convince the firm to list chip powerhouse Arm in London.

Automaker Nissan rose 1.05 percent to 431 yen, while Honda added 1.09 percent to 3,157 yen. Toyota trimmed earlier gains and ended up 0.11 percent to 1,827 yen.

Nippon Steel jumped 3.54 percent to 2,368 yen but Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group slipped 1.01 percent to 893.3 yen.