Tokyo: Japanese shares track Wall Street higher as Fed affirms taper plan

[TOKYO] Japanese shares ended higher on Thursday (Nov 4), tracking cues from a Wall Street rally after the US Federal Reserve unveiled plans to trim bond purchases, though a plunge in shipping firm Kawasaki Kisen despite a record quarterly profit capped gains.

The Nikkei share average climbed 0.93 per cent higher to close at 29,794.37, while the broader Topix jumped 1.18 per cent to 2,055.56.

Major indexes in the Wall Street marked closing record highs overnight after the US central bank announced plans to begin tapering its bond purchases, while it said it would not rush to raise interest rates.

"The market tracked the gains in Wall Street, but the rally took a pause before the Nikkei got closer to 30,000," said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"Investors became cautious about market reactions to earnings results because even if some companies showed a positive outcome, shares could fall just because market expectations were too high."

Shares in Nippon Yusen and Kawasaki Kisen tumbled even as Japan's biggest and third-biggest shipping companies by sales, respectively, delivered record quarterly profit as they benefited from higher freight rates amid the chaos hitting global supply chains. Nippon Yusen tumbled 8.11 per cent despite its estimate-beating record profit.

The heavy losses led the shipping sector to fall 6.25 per cent to make it the worst performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Toyota Motor gained 0.73 per cent after the automaker reported a better-than-expected 48 per cent rise in second-quarter operating profit and raised its earnings outlook as it benefited from a rebound in vehicle demand and a weaker yen.

Fujifilm Holdings jumped 4.79 per cent after the medical equipment maker raised its annual net profit outlook.

Shares of Nippon Steel rose 1.71 per cent after Japan's top steelmaker lifted its annual net profit outlook by 41 per cent.

Konica Minolta shares tanked 8.57 per cent after the office equipment maker cut its annual profit forecast.

REUTERS