TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average jumped on Thursday as investors scooped up beaten-down stocks following heavy sell-offs, with chip-related shares leading the charge.
The Nikkei index rose 1.75% to 32,494.66, its highest close since Sept. 25, and posted its third consecutive session of gains.
The broader Topix rose 1.5% to 2,342.49.
“The market was firm overall. Investors bought back stocks that fell in recent sell-offs. They realized that the fundamental for Japanese economy has not changed,” said Ikuo Mitsui, fund manager at Aizawa Securities.
The Nikkei fell to a more than four-month low last week, losing nearly 10% from a 33-year high scaled in mid-June, amid concerns about rising U.S. Treasury yields.
“Investors also bought growth stocks, mainly chip-related shares, after earnings of Samsung (Electronics) indicated the industry’s performance hit the bottom,” Mitsui said.
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday said its preliminary third-quarter profit dropped by a smaller-than-expected 78%, as the battered memory chip market shows early signs of recovering from a severe downturn.
Japan’s chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 2.94% to become the biggest boost for the Nikkei, followed by chip-testing making equipment maker Advantest, which jumped 4.03%.
Chip-related product maker Lasertec surged 6.34% and chip-maker Renesas Electronics jumped 5.19%.
Refiner Idemitsu Kosan cut early losses to end 5.58% higher after the refiner said it would form an alliance with Toyota Motor to develop and mass-produce all-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.
Energy explorers lost 0.8% to become the worst performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, as oil prices fell
Of the Nikkei’s 225 components, 179 stocks rose and 46 declined.
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