Tokyo: Nikkei snaps 3-session slide on Wall Street rally, posts weekly gain

JAPAN’S Nikkei snapped 3 straight sessions of losses on Friday (May 27), tracking an overnight Wall Street rally, although gains were limited as investors started selling stocks when the benchmark index approached the 27,000 psychological level.

The Nikkei share average rose 0.66 per cent to close at 26,781.68 and ended 0.16 per cent higher for the week. The broader Topix climbed 0.52 per cent to 1,887.30 and posted a weekly gain of 0.53 per cent.

Wall Street closed sharply higher overnight after optimistic retail earnings outlooks and waning concerns about overly aggressive interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve put investors in a buying mood.

“Wall Street’s strong finish lifted Japanese markets, but investors sold shares as soon as the Nikkei got close to the 27,000 level to book profits,” said Ikuo Mitsui, a fund manager at Aizawa Securities.

“They were concerns about risks stemming from high US inflation and its effect on interest rates.”

Nippon Yusen jumped 6.4 per cent after the shipping firm announced a stock split.

The shipping sector added 4.88 per cent and was the top gainer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sub-indexes.

Shares of companies related to inbound tourism rose as Japan eases its border control to allow more tourists. Department store chains J.Front Retailing and Takashimaya rose 4.7 per cent and 4.11 per cent, respectively.

Discount store Don Quijote operator Pan Pacific International Holdings surged 9.34 per cent.

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Gas provider Osaka Gas fell 3.02 per cent and was the worst performer in the Nikkei, followed by medical services platform M3, which fell 2.81 per cent and trading firm Marubeni, losing 2.56 per cent.

There were 143 advancers ion the Nikkei index against 80 decliners. REUTERS