Japan’s Nikkei Rebounds as Earnings Optimism Supplants Middle East Concerns

Reuters

16:09 JST, October 17, 2023

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average rebounded on Tuesday from the previous day’s steep drop, taking cues from Wall Street as investor optimism about upcoming earnings overtook concerns about the conflict in Gaza.

The Nikkei gained 0.9% to 31,944.31 as of close, recouping more than half of Monday’s 2% tumble.

Of the benchmark’s 225 components, 172 rose versus 49 that fell, while two were flat.

The broader Topix advanced 0.8%.

“My view is that earnings both in Japan and the U.S. will be strong this quarter, and that is likely to support equity prices,” said Kenji Abe, an analyst at Daiwa Securities.

“I think the risks are correctly priced – I don’t think stocks are oversold – but I think the risks will recede over the next 6 months, so I think there’s a lot of potential upside for Nikkei,” Abe said, predicting a rise to 35,000 for the index by end-March.

The unofficial start of Japan’s earnings season was bellwether motor maker Yaskawa Electric on Oct. 6, although the pace doesn’t pick up until the end of this month.

Japanese tech stocks, which had been sold off aggressively at the start of the week, rebounded strongly.

Japanese chip industry giant Tokyo Electron was a standout winner, jumping 2.4%. Advantest 6857.T added 1.2% and Lasertec 6920 gained 1.5%.

Startup investor SoftBank Group climbed 2.7%.

However, Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com, warned against complacency.

“The price action doesn’t signal the risks posed by an outright ground war in the Gaza Strip have passed – things look more like a repositioning after the relatively violent moves at the end of last week,” Rodda wrote in a note.

“The balance of probabilities is tipping towards a full-on invasion.”