Japan's Nikkei ends higher on dip buying, US debt ceiling bill optimism

Daikin Industries

01/06/2023 07:52

TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
ended higher on Thursday as investors scooped up stocks after
losses in the previous session and also cheered U.S. lawmakers'
vote to approve the debt ceiling bill to avoid a crippling
default.
    The Nikkei index  .N225  rose 0.84% to close at 31,148.01,
after opening lower. The index accelerated gains after the news
that a divided U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to
suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. 
    The Nikkei kept that momentum towards the end even as it
trimmed some losses during the session. 
     The broader Topix  .TOPX  rose 0.88% to 2,149.29. 
     "The market fell yesterday and that was due to the
adjustment of portfolios at the end of the month. Today,
investors scooped up shares when prices fell," said Shoichi
Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department
at IwaiCosmo Securities.
    "The passing of the debt ceiling bill also gave relief to
investors."
    The Nikkei snapped a four-day winning streak in the previous
session, and dropped the most since April 5 on profit-booking.
    Among individual stocks, technology investor SoftBank Group
Corp  9984.T  jumped 4.57% to become the top gainer on the
Nikkei. Air-conditioner maker Daikin Industries Ltd  6367.T 
rose 2.86% and chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron Ltd
 8035.T  gained 1.21%.
    Toyota Motor Corp  7203.T  rose 1.81% after the automaker
said it would invest $2.1 billion more in its new U.S. battery
plant in North Carolina in an effort to tap rising demand for
electric vehicles.
    Japan Steel Works Ltd  5631.T  rose 3.56% after SMBC Nikko
Securities raised its target price for the machinery maker. 
    Among the Nikkei components, 143 stocks rose, 76 declined
and six were flat. 
    
    

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
and Sonia Cheema)
 ((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))