Tokyo: Nikkei closes up for fourth straight session

[TOKYO] Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index rose for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, extending rallies on Wall Street backed by optimism about the further easing of lockdowns in some pandemic-hit economies.

The Nikkei 225 index gained 0.36 per cent or 81.98 points to close at 22,695.74, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.30 per cent or 4.74 points to 1,603.82.

The market opened higher, taking a positive lead from Wall Street, where stocks surged, betting on an economic rebound following coronavirus shutdowns and shrugging off rising China-US tensions.

"The current buying sentiment is supported by expectations of continued economic measures taken by many countries," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"Profit-taking can easily emerge but bargain-hunting has sustained the market," Mr Horiuchi told AFP.

The dollar fetched 109.03 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 108.92 yen in New York.

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In Tokyo, blue-chip exporters were higher, with Toyota rising 0.85 per cent to 6,974 yen, Sony up 1.62 per cent at 7,267 yen and Nintendo 1.36 per cent higher at 45,240 yen.

But airlines lost ground on profit-taking, with Japan Airlines down 0.98 per cent at 2,166 yen and ANA Holdings falling 1.66 per cent to 2,600.5 yen.

AFP