Nikkei ends at 3-week high on Wall Street rebound, tech boost

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei hit a three-week closing high on Wednesday as a strong rebound in Wall Street prompted investors to scoop up technology and auto shares.

The Nikkei reached an intraday peak of 35,142.12 before ending the session up 1.89% at 34,868.63, its highest closing level since April 2.

“Investors sold stocks as soon as they saw the index’s strong rebound, but overall the market sentiment is not bad,” said Takuro Hayashi, head of the investment research centre at IwaiCosmo Securities. “But the market wanted to confirm the outcome of the talks between US and Japan finance chiefs this week, which may move the yen in either direction.”

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are expected to meet in Washington this week, where currency rates are likely to be among key topics.

The yen strengthened to a seven-month high of 139.885 against the dollar in the previous session. The dollar rebounded on Wednesday, pushing the yen to trade down 0.1% at 141.760.

Overnight, US stocks rose as a spate of quarterly earnings reports and hints at the de-escalation of US-China trade tensions brought buyers in from the sidelines.