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TOKYO, Oct. 8 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei rose for a second straight session on Friday, following gains on Wall Street and as investors picked up good deals after sharp declines this month, while Toyota Motor helped Topix close higher for the first time in 10 sessions.
The Nikkei stock average ended up 1.34% at 28,048.94, crushing gains after a 2.3% jump in early trade as investors waited for industry leader Yaskawa Electric to kick off the profit season later today. The larger Topix gained 1.15% to 1,961.85.
For the week, the Nikkei fell 2.51%, weighed down by concerns over China’s economic slowdown and inflation fears in the United States. For the month, the index lost 4.77%.
Wall Street ended sharply higher overnight in a widespread rally led by Big Tech, as a deadlocked debt ceiling truce in Congress allayed concerns of a possible default by the public debt this month.
“Domestic stocks rose because foreign markets advanced, but today’s gain was only a rebound from large losses,” said Shigetoshi Kamada, managing director of the research department at Tachibana Securities.
With no catalyst for stock market movement in Japan, investors are waiting for the new government’s policies ahead of the Oct. 31 national lower house elections, Kamada said.
Newly appointed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he will do everything possible to pull Japan out of the COVID-19 crisis.
Last week, he flagged the chances of changing the country’s financial income tax rate, which Kamada said is negatively impacting the local market.
Automakers advanced as the yen weakened against the dollar, with Toyota Motor jumping 2.89% and Honda Motor rising 1.14%.
Japan’s largest refiner, Eneos, closed lower after rising at the start of trading following a report that it would buy Japan Renewable Energy, which operates solar and wind power plants, for around 200 billion yen. ($ 1.8 billion) to Goldman Sachs and the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund. GIC. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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