Tokyo: Nikkei tracks Wall Street higher; caution over corporate outlook caps gains

[TOKYO] Japan's Nikkei share average ended higher on Tuesday (Apr 5) in seesaw-trading, tracking overnight strength in Wall Street, though investor caution about corporate outlook capped gains.

The Nikkei index inched up 0.19 per cent to close at 27,787.98, after falling as much as 0.26 per cent earlier in the session.

"The only reason that lifted the market was Wall Street's gains," said Shuji Hosoi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

"With the fiscal year just ending, we are expecting corporate guidance to come out and those are not expected to be positive with the impact of the Covid-19 and rising commodity prices due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict."

Fast Retailing rose 2.06 per cent, providing the biggest boost for the Nikkei, followed by technology investor SoftBank Group, rising 2.61 per cent and chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron climbing 0.88 per cent.

Oil explorers led gains among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes, rising 1.84 per cent as oil prices rose.

Retailers were also strong, with Shimamura surging 7.31 per cent after the casual clothing shop operator raised prices and flagged a record annual profit.

Insurers and banks led losses in the industry sub-indexes, losing 3.45 per cent and 1.73 per cent, respectively.

The broader Topix fell 0.23 per cent to end at 1,949.12, also in a range-bound trading session.

Banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dragged the Topix the most, falling 2.02 per cent.

T&D Holdings and Dai-ichi Life were top losers on the Nikkei, falling 4.76 per cent and 4.43 per cent. REUTERS