Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Touches More than a Week High on Hopes of Strong US Economy

Reuters

12:38 JST, November 25, 2024

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average touched its highest in more than one week on Monday, as investors bought stocks expecting the U.S. economy to remain strong.

The Nikkei climbed to 39,053.64, hitting its highest since Nov. 15, before ending the morning session 1.53% higher at 38,868.68.

The broader Topix was up 1.02% to 2,747.14.

“Overseas factors are important for Japanese stocks now as we have not seen much market moving catalysts within Japan,” said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.

Wall Street closed higher on Friday, with all three major indexes posting weekly gains, as investors took comfort from data pointing to robust economic activity in the world’s biggest economy.

“But the gains of the Nikkei were capped on concerns about the possible impact of the Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s policy on Japanese exporters,” Matsumoto said.

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing jumped 2.9% to give the biggest boost to the Nikkei.

Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron gained 3.6% and tech start-up investor SoftBank Group added 3.72%.

Keisei Electric Railway and Keikyu surged 14.48% and 13.24%, respectively, after local media reported an activist investor group is building up stake in the railway operators.

The railway sector jumped 2.42% to become the top gainer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) 33 industry sub-indexes.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest slipped 1.33% to weigh the most on the Nikkei. Phone company KDDI fell 0.5%.

Of the more than 1,600 stocks on the TSE’s prime market, 71% rose, 24% fell and 3% traded flat. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Sumana Nandy)