Japan stocks hover near 29-yr high on vaccine progress, stimulus hopes

Hoya

03/12/2020 02:36

By Stanley White
    TOKYO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Japan shares inched up to more than
a 29-year high on Thursday as major countries moved closer to
rolling out coronavirus vaccines, while hopes of more stimulus
also boosted sentiment.
    The Nikkei 225 Index  .N225  rose 0.03% to 26,808.25 by 0204
GMT, near an April 1991 high hit in the previous session, while
the broader Topix  .TOPX  rose 0.3% to 1,779.27.
    Real estate, consumer cyclicals, industrial companies, and
financials rose in a sign that investors are betting on sectors
that will benefit most from a revival in economic growth.
    Britain on Wednesday became the first western country to
approve Pfizer Inc's  PFE.N  COVID-19 vaccine and said it would
start immunization early next week, while U.S. authorities plan
to begin vaccinations by mid-December.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2II10B  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2IH34Y
    In addition, Japan's government has committed to more fiscal
spending and U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to act
swiftly on economic stimulus measures.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2ID0IU  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2II16U
    "There are reflationary elements in the global economy that
will benefit Japanese equities," said Masayuki Kichikawa, chief
macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co.
    "But we need to continue to hear good news about the vaccine
and see no policy mistakes."
    The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were Central Japan Railway Co  9022.T  up 3.3 %, followed
by Mitsui & Co Ltd  8031.T , which rose 2.13%.
    The underperformers among the Topix 30 were Hoya Corp
 7741.T  down 3.82%, followed by Daikin Industries Ltd  6367.T 
losing 2.28%.
    There were 154 advancers on the Nikkei index against 68
decliners.
    The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board  .TOPX  was 0.51 billion, compared to the average of
1.3 billion in the past 30 days.

 (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
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