Tokyo stocks close higher after recent falls

TOKYO: Tokyo shares closed higher Tuesday on bargain-hunting as investors shrugged off news of a shrinking economy in Japan and ongoing worries over coronavirus infections.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.09 percent, or 582.01 points, to end at 28,406.84, while the broader Topix index added 1.54 percent, or 28.88 points, to 1,907.74.

Investors sought bargains after recent falls, including a 0.92 percent loss in the Nikkei index on Monday, while the yen slowed its appreciation against the dollar, giving some support to the market.

"Last week, we saw sharp falls (of Tokyo shares).

And now we are seeing a natural reaction to that," said Makoto Sengoku, senior equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

"Japanese shares fell rather sharply yesterday too. Then US shares... were seen as relatively calm. So that was seen as positive for the market," he added.

"The sense of security spread among investors in the afternoon session with stable US futures," Okasan Online Securities said.

Shortly before the Tokyo market opened, the Cabinet Office said Japan's economy contracted 1.3 percent in the three months to March, broadly in line with market expectations.

"As for the GDP, I think people knew what was coming," Sengoku said.

"It was to be expected under the coronavirus pandemic. I believe the market has it broadly factored in."

Among blue-chip stocks, Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing jumped 3.29 percent to 88,930 yen while SoftBank Group gained 2.56 percent to 8,647 yen.

Automakers were higher with Toyota rising 1.97 percent to 8,819 yen, Honda climbing 3.33 percent to 3,346 yen and Nissan advancing 0.33 percent to 539.6 yen.

But Nintendo gave up gains and fell 1.40 percent to 61,830 yen.

The dollar fetched 109.14 yen in Asian trade against 109.20 yen in New York on Monday.