TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average jumped more than 1% on Tuesday, as investor sentiment brightened on higher bets of US interest rate cuts this year while technology shares continued to dazzle.
The Nikkei was up 1.18% at 38,688.66 by the midday break, after briefly soaring to a three-week high of 38,863.14.
The broader Topix was up 0.28% at 2736.19. US stocks injected fresh momentum as markets priced in a higher chance of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates this year.
A US jobs report on Friday showing growth slowed more than expected in April further fuelled buying.
Japanese shares broadly climbed in the morning session on the positive news, with 132 of the Nikkei’s 225 constituents trading in green.
Local technology shares advanced as investors returning from a long weekend caught up to buoyant Wall Street after US tech giant Apple posted upbeat revenue results.
The session’s gains significantly added to the Nikkei’s near 453-point climb.
Japan’s financial markets were closed on Friday and Monday for a public holiday. Fears had grown that no cuts would be made in 2024, so the Nikkei was experiencing a bit of a “relief rally”, said Naka Matsuzawa, chief macro strategist, Nomura Securities.
Some bumps may still be in store, however, as market participants and central bank officials look to upcoming data to confirm the Fed rate-cut story, he added.
Nikkei drops 1pc on Uniqlo owner tumble
In individual stocks, chip-related shares Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings surged 4.1% and 4.2%, respectively.
Disco Corp jumped 6.7% to become the best performer of the session.
AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group gained 2.8%.
Outside of tech, Nikkei heavyweight and Uniqlo parent firm Fast Retailing rose 3.5% to add 140.24 index points alone.
Shares of Sony Group Corp fell 3.5% and pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo declined 3.7%, capping the Nikkei’s gains.
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