TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose for the first time in four sessions on Thursday, as chip-sector shares reversed early declines and bank shares rallied.

The Nikkei ended the day up 0.31% at 38,079.70, bouncing back from a drop of as much as 0.83% early in the session to recover the psychological 38,000 mark.

For the week though, the index remains 3.65% lower, on track for the biggest weekly decline since December 2022.

The broader Topix reversed small early losses to finish with a 0.54% gain.

“The Japanese market has been strong since the start of the year, so it’s natural for some investors to take profits,” leading to weakness at the start of this week, said Kenji Abe, an equities strategist at Daiwa Securities.

“I’m still sanguine about the outlook for Japanese equities because earnings are quite robust,” Abe said, predicting the Nikkei will climb to 43,000 over the coming 12 months.