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Tokyo stocks closed higher on Friday after US gains, with comments from the next Bank of Japan chief in support of current policies leading to relief among traders. online news
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 1.29 percent, or 349.16 points, to end at 27,453.48, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.67 percent, or 13.15 points, to 1,988.40.
IwaiCosmo Securities said in a note that comments from Kazuo Ueda, who was nominated last week as the next BoJ governor, “led to reassurance and the rally was extended”.
Ueda told parliament earlier in the day that the bank’s long-standing monetary easing policies were “appropriate”.
The dollar fetched 134.59 yen in Asian trade, against 134.70 yen in New York late Thursday.
Overnight, Wall Street stocks finished higher, following solid results from chip company Nvidia that boosted tech shares.
Equities have been under pressure due to anxiety that the US Federal Reserve will prolong a period of aggressive interest rate hikes.
“Equity markets remain edgy amid an uncertain economic and central bank outlook,” said Rodrigo Catril, senior analyst at National Australia Bank.
In Tokyo trading, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest soared 8.21 percent to 10,930 yen, while Tokyo Electron, which makes tools to build semiconductors, jumped 7.13 percent to 47,770.
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing added 0.17 percent to 80,190 yen, while SoftBank Group rose 0.34 percent to 5,595 yen.
Before the opening bell, data released by Japan’s government showed year-on-year inflation hit 4.2 percent in January, the highest figure since September 1981.
The figure was slightly lower than analyst expectations and did not move the market.
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