Tokyo Stocks End Higher

AFP/APP

Tokyo: Tokyo stocks closed higher on Thursday following Wall Street rallies after US consumer price inflation eased.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.39 percent, or 534.53 points, to end at 38,920.26, while the broader Topix index was up 0.24 percent, or 6.66 points, at 2,737.54.

The dollar fetched 154.18 yen, against 154.83 yen in New York on Wednesday. 

Overnight on Wall Street, all three major indices rocketed to fresh all-time highs after US inflation data came in slightly below expectations, boosting the chances for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

The Tokyo market “started trading higher with investors taking cues from Wall Street record highs linked to cooling US inflation,” IwaiCosmo Securities said. 

Led particularly by rallies of semiconductor-linked shares, the market continued to move upward, although somewhat curbed by a stronger yen, the brokerage added. 

Among major shares in Tokyo, SoftBank Group added 2.15 percent to 8,539 yen, Sony Group rallied 0.50 percent to 13,015 yen and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing advanced 1.54 percent to 41,380 yen. Nintendo surged 3.36 percent to 8,600 yen.