Japan's Nikkei ends higher for 4th day on yen's retreat, energy stocks gain-Xinhua

Japan's Nikkei ends higher for 4th day on yen's retreat, energy stocks gain

Source: Xinhua| 2022-06-28 18:17:01|Editor: huaxia

TOKYO, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher on Tuesday with the benchmark Nikkei stock index extending its winning run to four days, as energy issues rallied while a weak yen gave exporters a boost.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 178.20 points, or 0.66 percent, from Monday to close the day at 27,049.47.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, added 19.96 points, or 1.06 percent, to finish at 1,907.38.

Local dealers said that buying was encouraged by the yen's decline versus the U.S. dollar which lifted export-oriented issues higher.

With energy-linked shares also finding favor as demand in Japan increases amid a heatwave, brokers said the Nikkei stayed in positive territory during trading hours and topped the psychologically important 27,000 mark for the first time in two weeks.

They added, however, that gains were capped by continued concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy and the potential triggering of a recession in the the world's largest economy and the knock-on effect this would have on the global economy.

"Bigger gains would be difficult due to uncertainty over how aggressive the Federal Reserve would be in tightening policy and questions about whether the global economy could avoid a recession," a trader at a domestic securities firm was quoted as saying.

"At the end of this month and the beginning of next month, there are a lot of important economic indicators due, so it is natural to be cautious about chasing equities higher," said the expert.

Other market strategists said that some investors opted to take profits as the Nikkei has been on a winning streak, while U.S. stock futures turning negative and some Asian bourses underperforming also limited gains.

"But investors refrained from chasing the upside as U.S. stock futures fell into negative territory, while sentiment was hurt by some weak Asian markets," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co., was quoted as saying.

By the close of play, mining, real estate, and oil and coal product issues comprised those that gained the most, while issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 1,498 to 292 on the Prime Market, while 48 ended the day unchanged.

The yen's retreat saw exporters advance, with Mitsubishi Motors accelerating 5.8 percent, while Nissan advanced 3.1 percent. Toyota Motor, meanwhile, ended up 2.2 percent.

Among energy-related issues, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) was the Nikkei's biggest percentage gainer, soaring 7.2 percent following the government warning for a second-straight day of a heatwave-triggered power crunch in the capital and surrounding areas serviced by TEPCO.

Oil exploration giant Inpex was another notable winner, closing the day 4.9 percent higher, while refiner Idemitsu Kosan advanced 4.4 percent. Eneos Holdings, for its part, climbed 2.0 percent.

Nikkei heavyweight Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo chain of casual clothing stores, provided a boost for the market, adding 0.7 percent by the close.

On the Prime Market on Tuesday, 1,226.85 million shares changed hands, rising from Monday's volume of 1,109.57 million shares.

The turnover on the second trading day of the week came to 2,809.30 billion yen (20.69 billion U.S. dollars).

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