Nikkei rebounds on Apple cheer, but still set for worst week in 2 months

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei rebounded on Friday from a 14-week closing low, buoyed by strong earnings from Apple Inc, but remained on course for its biggest weekly drop in two months.

The Nikkei jumped 2.10% to 26,720.06 by the midday break and was set for its first session of gains in four, with nearly 10 stocks rising for every one that fell.

"There's a feeling that the sell-off has gone too far, so it's natural for there to be some buying back of shares," said Koji Toda, a fund manager at Resona Asset Management.

"If gains slow close to 27,000, it could be a sign of more turbulence ahead."

Tokyo stocks close lower ahead of Fed decision

For the week, the Nikkei has declined 2.92%, the most since the week ended Nov. 26, as Japanese stocks joined a global sell-off amid worries about an accelerated pace of US monetary policy tightening.

The index was also on track for a fourth straight weekly decline.

The broader Topix rallied 1.89%, but was still 2.59% lower for the week.

Apple, the world's largest company by market value, posted record sales over the holiday quarter, beating analyst estimates. Nasdaq futures rose 1.2% in Asia trade, after the index shed 1.2% overnight.

Sony Group jumped 3.53%, rebounding from its weakest level since early October.

Toyota Motor gained 3.84%, climbing from its lowest closing level this year. Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing was the biggest support by index points, rising 3.46% from its weakest level in nearly two weeks.

Fuji Electric surged 9.68% to become the Nikkei's biggest percentage gainer, after posting strong earnings late on Thursday.

SoftBank Group rose 1.32%, recovering after hitting a fresh 20-month low earlier in the day.

Chip stocks were mixed.

Advantest rose 2.04% after forecasting a big increase in operating profit. Renesas gained 2.15%.

Tokyo Electron, however, slipped 0.37% to a fresh three-month low, making it the Nikkei's biggest drag by index points.

Fujitsu was the biggest percentage decliner on the benchmark index, tumbling 9.03% after posting disappointing results.

Japanese stocks suffered their biggest foreign outflows in seven weeks last week, with cross-border investors selling 582.91 billion yen ($5.05 billion) worth of equities in the period ended Jan. 21, data from Japanese exchanges showed.