TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Wednesday, led by heavyweight technology stocks, but the gains were capped due to persistent worries about the US tariff policy.
The Nikkei rose 0.16% to 38,863.82 by the midday break. It gained as much as 0.78% earlier in the session.
The broader Topix reversed early gains to fall 0.28% to 2,725.45.
“Although Japan is not yet a direct target of the tariff policy of the US, whenever we hear about anything new about this subject, the market becomes nervous,” said Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
“The auto sector is the most sensitive to the tariff issues.”
The US President on Monday raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 25% from the previous 10%, eliminated country exceptions, as well as product-specific exclusions, and promised to announce global reciprocal tariffs within days.
Overnight, the Nasdaq declined, but the Dow Jones Industrial and S&P 500 climbed.
Japan’s stock market was closed on Tuesday for a public holiday.
Among stocks that lifted the benchmark Nikkei, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest rose 2.13% and SoftBank Group gained 2.15%.
Medical services platform operator M3 surged 18% to become the top percentage gainer on the Nikkei.
Cable makers, a gauge for data centre investments, rose on the day, with Fujikura and Furukawa Electric jumping 6% and 4%, respectively.
Japan’s Nikkei tracks Wall Street higher
Auto stocks slipped 1.32%.
The sector declined as Toyota Motor fell 1.47%, Honda Motor shed 1.23% and Nissan Motor slumped 6.8%.
Brokerages lost 2.13% to become the worst performing sector among the 33 sub-indexes.
Of the 225 Nikkei components, 85 stocks rose and 137 fell, while three traded flat.