Japan's Nikkei rises as energy-related shares track S&P higher

Daikin Industries

04/04/2023 03:31

TOKYO, April 4 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
climbed on Tuesday, led by energy related companies which
tracked overnight gains of their U.S. peers, but the rises were
muted as investors struggled to find other market moving cues.
     By 0155 GMT, the Nikkei index  .N225  had gained 0.3% to
28,261.03, while the broader Topix  .TOPX  was up 0.22% at 
2,022.16.
    "The market had no clear cues so investors were selling
outperforming stocks and buying underperforming ones," said
Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research
department at IwaiCosmo Securities. 
    "Wall Street was strong overnight, lifted by energy stocks,
but in Japan we do not have the real equivalent of those U.S.
stocks that would benefit from oil price gains." 
    Overnight, the S&P 500  .SPX  ended higher, lifted by energy
stocks following surprise cuts to the OPEC+ group's oil output.
The S&P 500 energy sector index  .SPNY  surged 4.9% 
    In Japan, the utility sector  .IEPNG.T  gained 1.46%, with
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings  9501.T  climbing 2.49%.
Kansai Electric Power  9503.T  rose 2.16%. 
    Energy explorers  .IMING.T , which surged 5% in the previous
session, gained 0.74%.
    Chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron  8035.T  rose
0.51%. Air-conditioning maker Daikin Industries  6367.T  gained
0.92%. 
    Videogame maker Nintendo  7974.T  advanced 2.86% to become
the best performer on the Nikkei.
    Shipping firms  .ISHIP.T  rose 1.62% to become the top
performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry
sub-indexes.
    Shimamura  8227.T  tanked 5.8% after the clothing retailer's
forecast for annual operating profit was below consensus. 
    "When there are little market moving cues, investors become
sensitive to the corporate outlook," Arisawa said. 

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman)
 ((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))