TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rallied for a sixth straight session on Friday, its longest winning streak since July, as the benchmark index was buoyed by advances on Wall Street overnight and a surge in Uniqlo-owner Fast Retailing.
The Nikkei rose 1.2% to close at 28,493.47, and posted a 3.54% weekly advance, its biggest since November.
From the current session, the Nikkei’s 25-day moving average - which had been a weight on the index - is set to turn up, Nomura Securities strategist Kazuo Kamitani said.
“Next week will be an easy week for the Nikkei to rise,” he said, predicting a potential break above the March 9 close at 28,623.15.
In the US, the S&P 500 jumped 1.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2% overnight, as traders became increasingly convinced of a peak in the Fed’s interest rates hikes next month as inflation pressures ease and the labour market loosens.
Some of Japan’s best-known tech names advanced, with Sony adding 1.68% and Nintendo up 1.82%.
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A rise in crude to multi-month highs overnight also buoyed energy shares, with Itochu and Marubeni soaring 4.48% and 3.35%, respectively.
But the outsized influence of Fast Retailing’s 8.46% surge on strong earnings - adding 261 of the Nikkei’s total 333.5 point advance - was clear from the relative underperformance of the broader Topix, which rose 0.54% to 2,018.72, bringing its weekly gain to 2.71%.
Fast Retailing was at one point up as much as 9.75%, taking it to the highest since March 2021.
Of the Nikkei’s 225 components, 140 rose, 69 fell and 16 were flat.
Chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron was the biggest drag by index points with a 1.78% slide. Automakers were also weak amid a strengthening yen.
Honda slid 1.36%, Nissan dropped 0.85% and Toyota eased 0.25%.
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