TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rebounded sharply on Monday, as investors bought back beaten-down stocks after major risk events, including meetings of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, concluded.
The Nikkei climbed 0.58% to 32,590.33 as of the midday recess.
The broader Topix rose 0.27%. Last week, the Nikkei declined every day in a holiday-shortened week to tumble a 3.37%, its worst performance this year.
The spring back from that is “a big factor” in the Nikkei’s Monday rally, said Maki Sawada, a strategist at Nomura Securities.
In addition, “the big central bank events of last week passed without major market ructions, so there’s a sense of relief that should support the Nikkei throughout the day”, she said.
The Nikkei dipped to a one-month low of 32,154.53 on Friday, sharply dropping from a 2-1/2-month peak at 33,428.44 a week earlier.
Japan’s finance ministry data on Friday showed overseas investors - a major driver of Nikkei gains this year - sold into that rally, shedding a net 1,583.9 billion yen ($10.68 billion) worth of Japanese equities in the week to Sept. 16, the most since March 2019.
On Monday, healthcare was the top performing sector, jumping 2.61%, lifted by a 7.66% surge for the Nikkei’s top performing stock, Daiichi Sankyo.
The drugmaker is jointly developing a breast cancer drug with AstraZeneca, which said late last week the experimental treatment slowed progression of the disease in a late-stage trial.
Tech shares rebounded, tracking gains for US peers from Friday.
Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest rallied 3.43%, while startup investor SoftBank Group advanced 2.61%.
However, stocks that had outperformed last week were offloaded, with banks shedding 2.38% and shippers down 1.61%.
The top five Nikkei decliners were all lenders, led by a 3.16% slide for Chiba Bank.
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