TOKYO: Japanese shares were set for their biggest weekly gain since late May 2020, as benchmark indexes tracked Wall Street higher on Friday amid caution over the five-day rally in local markets.
By 0155 GMT, the Nikkei share average had gained 0.3% to 26,735.57 and was set to jump 6.29% for the week. The broader Topix edged up 0.2% to 1,902.74, adding 5.73% so far in the week.
“The market rose sharply yesterday because investors who had shorted stocks bought them back. But with the long weekend ahead, they refrained from active bets,” said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the research department at Tachibana Securities.
The Nikkei had jumped more than 3% on Thursday to post its highest close in more than two weeks.
“Today, both buyers and sellers were cautious,” Kamada said.
Uniqlo clothing shop owner Fast Retailing led the Nikkei’s gains, rising 0.88%, followed by technology investor SoftBank Group, which climbed 2.45%.
Toshiba Corp rose 0.91% after an independent director said he would back a shareholder proposal at next week’s extraordinary meeting that could pave the way for a potential buyout of the conglomerate.
Toyota Motor fell 1.06% as the automaker said it would cut its global production target in April to 750,000 vehicles, down 150,000 from an earlier plan as a semiconductor shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic bite into its plans.
Toyota’s declines dragged the index of auto and parts makers 1.35% lower, making the sector one of the worst performers among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sub-indexes.
Airlines fell the most among the sub-indexes with a 1.48% drop.
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