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Tokyo shares ended higher on Friday despite a sell-off on Wall Street, with investors cheered by a weaker yen and strong earnings from some firms. online news
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.31 percent, or 86.63 points, at 27,670.98, while the broader Topix index added 0.10 percent, or 1.96 points, to 1,986.96.
The dollar stood at 131.54 yen, against 131.56 yen in New York on Thursday.
All three main indexes on Wall Street ended in the red, with the Nasdaq losing one percent.
US stocks initially rallied, but the upbeat mood fizzled as “some traders placed bets that the Fed will have to do a lot more tightening than what Wall Street is pricing in,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
In Tokyo, a weaker yen, which inflates profits for Japanese companies selling products and services overseas, helped boost exporters.
The market was “bolstered by the yen’s weakening and investors’ appetite to buy shares that performed well in earnings”, IwaiCosmo Securities said.
Chipmaker Tokyo Electron jumped 4.34 percent to 48,270 yen after lifting its annual net profit and sales forecasts.
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing was up 0.14 percent at 81,620 yen.
But SoftBank Group lost 1.19 percent to 5,878 yen, Sony Group inched down 0.04 percent to 11,940 yen and Toyota slid 1.15 percent to 1,879 yen.
Honda fell 0.81 percent to 3,174 yen. After the closing bell, the company said it would keep its full-year profit forecast, but downgraded its sales estimate.
tmo/kaf/dan
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Hong Kong Shares Fall at Opening Bell
Hong Kong stocks opened slightly lower Friday morning following another drop on Wall Street fuelled by growing concerns over interest rates, with traders looking ahead to key US inflation data next week.
The Hang Seng Index dipped 0.30 percent, or 64.92 points, to 21,559.44.
The Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.12 percent, or 3.95 points, to 3,266.44, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange also fell 0.12 percent, or 2.59 points, to 2,171.61.
dan/cwl
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