Tokyo stocks closed 0.92 percent higher on Wednesday, recovering slightly after five days of losses on bargain hunting and thanks to a weaker yen. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which sank to a two-month low on Tuesday, gained 137.01 points to finish at 15,073.52, while the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 0.77 percent, or 9.40 points, to 1,223.67. Traders moved in to take advantage of cheap stocks after the market lost 6.0 percent over the past five sessions, including a 2.38 percent slump Tuesday.
However, CLSA equities strategist Nicholas Smith. said "it's a depressingly small bounce, given how far the market had fallen". He told Dow Jones Newswires: "A lot of stocks are certainly flashing oversold indicators, which normally would fuel expectations for a sizeable rebound. "But global economic growth remains the main concern, and so it is difficult to say how long it will take to recapture the previous high. It may be a difficult quarter for the market."
The Nikkei broke 16,000 to hit a seven-year high in late September on optimism over the US economy. Toyota rose 0.20 percent to 5,990.0 yen, despite the automaker's announcement that it was recalling 1.75 million vehicles globally over brake problems and other glitches that posed a fire risk. SoftBank gained 2.16 percent to 7,026.0 yen after the mobile carrier said it was buying online television provider DramaFever, the latest in a string of acquisitions. Financial details were not disclosed.
All Nippon Airways jumped 4.82 percent to 241.2 yen while rival Japan Airlines soared 6.25 percent to 2,818.0 yen. The carriers each lost more than five percent Tuesday on Ebola fears after five people with flu-like symptoms were evacuated from a passenger jet in Boston. Ebola was later ruled out, but it was at least the third such scare on a commercial flight within the United States in days.
Comments
Comments are closed.