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Roundup: Tokyo stocks rebound on bargain-hunting after plunge

TOKYO
2022-05-20 16:30

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TOKYO, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Friday as following the benchmark Nikkei stock index's plunge a day earlier, investors swooped into snap-up bargains.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 336.19 points, or 1.27 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 26,739.03.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, added 17.29 points, or 0.93 percent, higher to finish at 1,877.37.

Dealers here said that stocks found favor following the Nikkei's 2 percent plunge the previous session, and despite Wall Street losing ground overnight, investors still sought out issues that had been battered down.

They added, however, that major U.S. retailers reporting subpar earnings remained a concern owing to rising inflation and the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy that in twine could zap consumer confidence.

"Japanese equities were firm Friday even as the Dow and S&P had extended their losses," Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the research department at Tachibana Securities, was quoted as saying.

"Overall, the corporate outlook is relatively strong, and many made modest forecasts for currencies, which means there may be a further upside toward the end of the year," Kamada said.

Other analysts said that while Wall Street's overnight drop could have impacted the market's upside, investors opting to buy on dips and U.S. stock futures pointing to a rebound incentivized market players.

"The consecutive drop on Wall Street weighed on Tokyo shares, but the Japanese market was lifted by dip-buying and additionally supported by a gain in U.S. stock futures," Maki Sawada, a strategist in Nomura Securities Co.'s investment content department, said.

By the close of play, marine transportation, precision instrument and nonferrous metal issues comprised those that gained the most, and issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 1,270 to 492 on the Prime Market, while 75 ended the day unchanged.

Nikkei heavyweights helped prop up the market, with Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing climbing 2.5 percent, while SoftBank Group and Tokyo Electron jumped 3.5 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Issues related to tourism found favor in hopes that Japan's strict COVID-19 border controls will be eased further next month, with department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings rising 2.2 percent, while Takashimaya closed 1.5 percent higher.

Tokyo Disney Resort operator Oriental Land, meanwhile, added 2.3 percent in hopes of increased patronage from overseas visitors in the coming months.

Staffing agency Recruit Holdings bounced back to become a notable winner, leaping 6.3 percent by the close.

On the Prime Market on Friday, 1,253.30 million shares changed hands, dropping from Thursday's volume of 1,264.39 million shares.

The turnover on the final trading day of the week came to 2,999.53 billion yen (23.44 billion U.S. dollars).
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