Japan's Nikkei edges up; earnings, US House election results in focus

Ajinomoto Co

08/11/2024 03:11

By Brigid Riley
       TOKYO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
rebounded on Friday, helped by a portion of big name stocks
tracking Wall Street gains, although corporate earnings and
uncertainty about whether Republicans would win both chambers of
the U.S. Congress weighed.
    The Nikkei  .N225  rose 0.3% to 39,515.36 by the midday
break after ending lower on profit-taking the previous day,
while the broader Topix  .TOPX  was up 0.1% at 2,746.04.
    U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday after the Federal
Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, extending a sharp
rally sparked by Donald Trump's return as U.S. president. .N 
    Japan's AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group  9984.T 
added 2.9% and other tech shares followed their U.S. peers
higher to lift the benchmark Nikkei index.
    Uniqlo parent firm Fast Retailing  9983.T  and staffing
agency Recruit Holdings  6098.T , up 0.8% and 4.4%,
respectively, also lent support.
    But investors were still waiting to see if Republicans
manage to take the U.S. House of Representatives, after already
winning control of the Senate, which could affect how easily
Trump can enact his proposals.
    "It's unclear whether we're going to see a 'Red sweep' or a
divided government situation. So momentum for the Nikkei to
aggressively rise is not particularly strong at the moment,"
said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo
Mitsui DS Asset Management.
    Domestic corporate earnings have also "not been particularly
good", with companies in economically-sensitive areas, like the
automakers, posting more cautious earnings, limiting the upside
for gains on the Nikkei, he added.
    Corporate earnings drew out some of the biggest winners and
losers on the Nikkei.
    Electronics components maker Taiyo Yuden  6976.T  tumbled
14.8%, cosmetic firm Shiseido  4911.T  slipped 6.9%, while sauce
maker Ajinomoto  2802.T  added 8.6%.
    Nissan Motor  7201.T  slumped as much as 10% after
announcing on Thursday it will cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its
global manufacturing capacity.
    It was last down 6.3%, along with Toyota  7203.T  and Honda
 7261.T , down 2.4% and 2.7%, respectively.
    A relatively stronger yen versus the U.S. dollar  JPY=EBS 
didn't help sentiment for exporter shares.

 (Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
 ((brigid.riley@thomsonreuters.com;))