Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Ends at 3-Week High on Wall Street Rebound, Tech Boost

Reuters

17:02 JST, April 23, 2025

TOKYO, April 23 (Reuters) – 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 center at IwaiCosmo Securities.

“But the market wanted to confirm the outcome of the talks between U.S. and Japan finance chiefs this week, which may move the yen in either direction.”

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and U.S. 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, U.S. stocks rose as a spate of quarterly earnings reports and hints at the de-escalation of U.S.-China trade tensions brought buyers in from the sidelines.

U.S. stocks jumped further in extended trade after President Donald Trump said he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, stepping back from his recent rhetoric against the central bank chief.

Trump told reporters he would be very nice in negotiations with China, and that tariffs on imports from the country would fall significantly following a deal, but not to zero.

Japan’s broader Topix jumped 2.06% to 2,584.32, boosted by Sony Group and Toyota Motor, which jumped 5.68% and 5%, respectively.

Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing climbed 1.22%, providing the Nikkei its biggest boost.

Chip-related Tokyo Electron and Advantest rose 2.45% and 3.1%, respectively.

Shares of Fujifilm Holdings surged 8.73% after Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said it has signed a deal worth more than $3 billion with the Japanese healthcare company’s drug unit.