Japan's Nikkei ends slightly higher as exporters gain, U.S. rate hike concerns weigh

TOKYO, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index closed slightly higher Monday as exporters gained on the yen's retreat, but insurance firms' subpar earning and concerns over the future health of the U.S. economy weighed.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average edged up 45.02 points, or 0.16 percent, from Friday to close the day at 27,944.79.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, added 5.54 points, or 0.28 percent, to finish at 1,972.57.

Local brokers said the U.S. dollar gained on the Japanese yen on concerns the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively hike its interest rates into next year in a bid to tame soaring inflation.

On Friday, a Fed official suggested the central bank may proceed with another 0.75 percentage point hike looking ahead.

The resulting rise in the U.S. dollar versus the yen on Monday helped lift some exporters, although concerns remain over a U.S. economic slowdown in light of further hefty rate hikes by the Fed, market strategists here said.

"Financial markets are trying to find the balance between the room for further rate hikes versus the extent to which the U.S. and global economy will slow," Masayuki Kichikawa, chief macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management, was quoted as saying.

By the close of play, marine transportation, wholesale trade, and iron and steel issues comprised those that gained the most.

Exporters advanced on the yen's retreat as their profits made overseas are augmented when repatriated on favorable exchange rates, and their overall competitiveness is enhanced in global markets, investment analysts explained.

Among these, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest rose 1.4 percent, while Subaru accelerated 1.8 percent.

Trading house-oriented issues found favor owing to rising energy and commodity prices, with Marubeni ending the day 2 percent higher.

But insurance issues weighed heavily, owing to disappointing earnings by some firms for the fiscal first half, as well as firms' downwardly revising their profit outlooks, dealers here said.

MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings lost 1.5 percent, while Sompo Holdings tumbled 8.0 percent by the close.

Issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 1,226 to 534, while 76 ended the day unchanged.

On the Prime Market on Monday, 965.30 million shares changed hands, dropping from Friday's volume of 1,126.25 million shares.

The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 2,451.07 billion yen (17.36 billion U.S. dollars).