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Roundup: Tokyo stocks close sharply higher as weak yen propels exporters, tech issues advance

TOKYO
2022-03-23 17:11

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TOKYO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed sharply higher Wednesday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index closing at a more than two-month high and soaring 3 percent as the dollar's sharp rise against the yen propelled exporters higher.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 816.05 points, or 3.00 percent, from Tuesday to close the day at 28,040.16, marking its highest closing level since Jan. 18.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, added 44.96 points, or 2.33 percent, to finish at 1,978.70.

Local traders said that along with tech issues here tracking their U.S. peers higher overnight, the U.S. dollar on Tuesday night trading past the 121 yen mark for the first time since early 2016, gave export-oriented issues a monumental boost.

The U.S. dollar's meteoric rise, they said, was down to expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve's likely interest rate hikes to deal with rising inflation will lead to a widening interest rate gap between the United States and Japan.

"Export-oriented shares were boosted throughout the day by the weak yen, although the U.S. dollar's ascent against the Japanese currency may also negatively impact Japan's economic growth due to inflated import costs," Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., was quoted as saying.

A weaker yen is usually cheered by firms whose products are broadly exposed to overseas markets like exporters, as their profits are boosted when repatriated.

In terms of other issues affecting the market, Koichi Kurose, chief strategist, Resona Asset Management, suggested that the conflict in Ukraine had largely been factored in and investors were now seeking out sectors that would weather an inflationary onset.

"Investors' focus is now on which sectors would survive under inflationary risks and those that were seen surviving were rising," Kurose said.

Electric appliance and transportation equipment issues comprised those that advanced the most, and issues the rose outpaced those that fell by 1,940 to 206 on the First Section, while 35 ended the day unchanged.

Among exporters finding favor on the yen's weakness, Toyota Motor accelerated 4.0 percent, while Nissan Motor advanced 3.8 percent by the close.

High tech issues followed their U.S. peers higher overnight, with Tokyo Electron climbing 3.8 percent and Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group propping up the broader market by soaring 7.2 percent.

TDK, meanwhile, ended 5.6 percent higher and industrial robotics maker Fanuc gained 3.0 percent by the close.

Mizuho Financial Group added 1.6 percent, after announcing a strategic tie-up with Google LLC to help expedite the firm's digital ambitions.

On the main section on Wednesday, 1,414.73 million shares changed hands, dropping from Tuesday's volume of 1,533.23 million shares.

The turnover came to 3,428,83 billion yen (28.34 billion U.S. dollars).
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