Tokyo Stocks Led Higher by Bargain Hunters

Jiji Press

16:54 JST, June 1, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Tokyo stocks turned higher Thursday, with investors vigorously scooping up bargains.

The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section gained 260.13 points, or 0.84%, to finish at 31,148.01.

The broader TOPIX index ended 18.66 points, or 0.88%, higher at 2,149.29.

The market headed north after opening almost flat, as investors stepped up purchases of stocks that dropped sharply the previous day.

Selling to lock in profits grew late in the morning, in reaction to media reports that U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the government debt ceiling.

“The news led players to cash in gains from a rally driven by anticipation of the bill’s passage,” said Kazuo Kamitani, strategist at Nomura Securities Co.

But buying the dip quickly gathered steam.

The market’s resistance to fall markedly encouraged participants to buy, among others, large-cap issues such as auto giant Toyota and trading house Mitsubishi, an official at a bank-affiliated securities firm said.

In the afternoon, both the Nikkei and TOPIX indexes moved narrowly amid a dearth of market-moving news, brokers said.

“Wariness over an overheated market persists,” Kamitani pointed out.

On the Prime section, gainers outnumbered decliners 948 to 805 while 82 issues were unchanged. Volume shrank to 1,384 million shares from Wednesday’s 2,586 million shares.