Tokyo stocks close higher on relief at US Fed report

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks closed higher on Friday on a report that the US Federal Reserve could soon pause interest rate hikes, news that also boosted US markets.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.82 percent, or 177.06 points, at 21,678.68. Over the week, the index lost 3.01 percent.

The broader Topix index gained 0.61 percent, or 9.85 points, to close at 1,620.45. Over the week, the index fell 2.82 percent.

“Japanese shares gained on expectations that (recent) falls in US shares may bottom out after the Dow ended down, but by less than anticipated,” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

In New York, the Dow ended down 0.3 percent at 24,947.67 and the S&P closed down 0.2 percent, but the tech-rich Nasdaq ended up 0.4 percent.

The dollar changed hands at 112.86 yen in late Asian trade, against 112.69 yen in New York late Thursday.

In Tokyo, SoftBank dropped 2.09 percent to 8,929 yen after the internal affairs minister said “necessary measures” would be taken after the mobile operator faced a glitch with software made by Sweden’s Ericsson that left customers temporarily unable to use data.

Its rivals closed higher, with NTT Docomo up 1.27 percent at 2,582 yen and KDDI up 0.45 percent at 2,640 yen.

Nissan recovered from earlier losses to close at 9,783.3 yen, down 0.02 percent, after a report that Japanese prosecutors will charge the automaker as well as its ex-chairman Carlos Ghosn and his right-hand man Greg Kelly for financial misconduct.

The company is due to hold a press conference later Friday to discuss issue with vehicle inspections.

Game giant Nintendo jumped 3.0 percent to 32,880 yen and market heavyweight Fast Retailing, operator of casual wear company Uniqlo, rose 2.94 percent to 58,990 yen.

Investors shrugged off fresh official data released before the opening bell showing that Japan’s household spending slipped 0.3 percent year-on-year in October.

© Agence France-Presse