Japan shares end higher on U.S. stimulus hopes, post weekly gains

Kakaku.com

23/10/2020 07:40

TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ticked up on
Friday after signs of progress in U.S. stimulus talks helped
Wall Street finish higher overnight, while some investors
refrained from making big bets ahead of a string of earnings
reports next week.
    The benchmark Nikkei share average  .N225  rose 0.18% to
23,516.59, while the broader Topix  .TOPX  gained 0.34% to 
1,625.32. Both of the indexes posted weekly gains of more than
0.45%.
    Wall Street provided a strong lead as positive economic data
and the prospect of more fiscal stimulus helped all three major
U.S. stock indexes end higher on Thursday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HC22N
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HC1JI urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HC1JV
    The Japanese market showed little reaction to the final U.S.
presidential debate ahead of the November election. 
    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries  7011.T  climbed more than 6.5%
after Reuters reported it would freeze the development of its
SpaceJet regional jet.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2HD59K
    Online games developer Nexon Co  3659.T  soared above 17%,
having hit the daily limit earlier after media reported the
company would replace FamilyMart Co  8028.T  in the Nikkei stock
average.
    Other companies that were seen as potential replacements,
such as Kakaku.com Inc  2371.T  and Zozo Inc  3092.T  dropped
more than 7% each.
    The largest percentage loser in the index was Hitachi
Construction Machinery  6305.T , plunging more than 16% after
media reported Hitachi Ltd  6501.T  was considering a partial
sale of its stake in the company.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2HE133
    Shares of semiconductor firms Tokyo Electron  8035.T  and
Advantest Corp  6857.T  lost 2.74% and 1.08%, respectively,
tracking a 10% decline in Intel Corp's shares  INTC.O  after it
reported a slump in quarterly margins.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2HD4IR
    The Mothers Index  .MTHR  of start-up firm shares trimmed
early losses but remained 0.93% lower as investors booked
profits after a recent rally that pushed it to a 14-year high.
The index posted its biggest weekly loss since July.
    "Earnings reports from key firms will be out in full swing
from next week. So perhaps investors are profit-taking to shift
their focus to these firms," said Takashi Hiroki, chief
strategist at Monex.

 (Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu; Editing by Aditya Soni)
 ((eimi.yamamitsu@thomsonreuters.com;))