Tokyo: Stocks rally after fresh Wall Street gains

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks rallied on Tuesday with investors tracking another surge on Wall Street as inflation fears that sparked wild volatility earlier this month receded.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.07 per cent, or 236.23 points, to close at 22,389.86 while the broader Topix index was up 0.88 per cent, or 15.53 points, at 1,790.34.

The gains were in line with another broad advance across Asia following healthy gains on all three main New York indices, with concerns over US inflation and interest rate hikes easing.

"The yen's stability at around 107 yen also helped support market sentiment," Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told AFP.

"But a wait-and-see stance emerged in late trading" as new US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell prepares to speak before key congressional committees on Tuesday and Thursday for the first time, Mr Horiuchi said.

Markets will pore over his comments for clues about plans for monetary policy - though many predict he will stick to the path of his predecessor Janet Yellen.

With the market already factoring in the prospect of rate hikes this year, the Fed boss's speech "may be over without making waves in the market", Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

The yen traded at 106.91 yen in late Asian trade, compared with 106.93 yen in New York late Monday.

Game giant Nintendo jumped 1.35 per cent to 49,430 yen, Sony advanced 1.05 per cent to 5,439 yen and Panasonic gained 1.49 per cent to 1,695.5 yen.

Market heavyweight Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo casual clothes, was up 0.78 per cent at 43,670 yen.

AFP