Japanese shares rise on hopes for better corporate outlook

Hoya

20/05/2022 03:53

TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rebounded on
Friday from a fall of nearly 2% in the previous session as
investors scooped up beaten-down stocks on hopes for growth in
earnings of domestic companies.
    The Nikkei share average  .N225  rose 0.9% to 26,640.61 by
0212 GMT and was set to gain nearly a percent for the week. The
broader Topix  .TOPX  added 0.47% to 1,868.89 and was on course
for a weekly rise of 0.49%.
    The gains came even as Wall Street closed lower overnight,
hurt by fears about the broadening impact of inflation and a
plunge in Cisco Systems  CSCO.O  due to its dismal outlook.
    "Japanese equities were firm today even as the Dow and S&P
had extended their losses," said Shigetoshi Kamada, general
manager at the research department at Tachibana Securities. 
    "Overall, corporate outlook is relatively strong, and many
made modest forecast for currencies, which means there may be a
further upside toward the end of the year."
     Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing  9983.T  rose 2.77% and
provided the biggest boost to the Nikkei, followed by technology
start-up investors SoftBank Group  9984.T , which climbed 3.42%,
and chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron  8035.T , which
added 1.21%. 
     Seiko Epson  6724.T  surged 8.81% and was the top gainer on
the Nikkei after the watch maker announced a buyback of up to
9.35% of its shares.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nT9N2X5002
    Tokyo Gas  9531.T  fell 2.97% and was the biggest loser on
the index after a report said the gas provider would shoulder
increasing costs as there was a limit on how much it could pass
them on to consumers. 
    Hoya  7741.T  rose 4.4% and was the top gainer among the top
30 core Topix names, followed by staffing agency Recruit
Holdings  6098.T , which rose 4.28%.
    Touch panel maker Keyence  6861.T  fell 2.87% and was the
worst performer among the top 30, followed by retailer Seven & i
Holdings  3382.T , which lost 1.77%.
    There were 155 advancers on the Nikkei index against 67
decliners.
    

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Aditya Soni)
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