Japan’s Nikkei jumps as oil stabilises before Iran talks; Fast Retailing surges

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average surged on Friday and was on track for its sharpest weekly gain in eight months, as optimism over corporate earnings and technology investment outweighed concerns about a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.65% to 56,817.54, poised for a 6.8% weekly jump that would be its best since mid-August.

The broader Topix edged up just 0.05% to 3,743.17.

The Nikkei and other global indexes rose sharply on Wednesday, following the announcement of a ceasefire to the nearly six-week long war in Iran that has nearly halted oil shipments from the region.

All eyes are now on talks in Pakistan this weekend, as representatives from the United States and Iran meet to solidify the deal to end hostilities.

Oil prices stabilised below $100 per barrel overnight while shares on Wall Street climbed, with the Philadelphia SE semiconductor index advancing for a seventh straight session to hit an all-time high.

“Crude oil futures remaining in the $90 range and the SOX Index hitting a new high are expected to support Japanese stocks,” Hiroshi Watanabe, a senior economist at Sony Financial Group, said in a note.

With the earnings season now underway, retailing heavyweight Fast Retailing took the spotlight with blockbuster earnings after the bell on Thursday. Shares in the Uniqlo parent jumped as much as 10.2% to an all-time high on Friday.

There were 101 advancers on the Nikkei gauge against 121 decliners. “Selective buying of individual stocks following earnings announcements appears to be contributing to the upward momentum in Japanese stocks,” said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities.

“With caution surrounding future developments (in the Middle East), and considering the recent sharp rise in shares, I believe we may see some resistance at higher levels become more noticeable today.”

Aside from Fast Retailing, the largest gainers on the Nikkei were tech industry supplier Fujikura, up 10.9%, and chipmaker Kioxia Holdings, which jumped 6.7%.

The largest losers were SHIFT, down 5.3%, followed by BayCurrent, down 5%, and online retailer Mercari , which lost 4.8%.