Japanese shares end higher on bargain-hunting; post weekly gains

Keyence

20/05/2022 07:38

TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) - Japanese shares closed higher on
Friday, rebounding from a near 2% fall in the previous session,
as investors scooped up beaten-down stocks on hopes of corporate
earnings growth.
    The Nikkei share average  .N225  ended 1.27% higher at
26,739.03 and marked a 1.18% weekly gain. The broader Topix
 .TOPX  climbed 0.93% to 1,877.37 and posted a rise of 0.71% for
the week.
    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 (Friday) even as the Dow
and S&P had extended their losses," said Shigetoshi Kamada,
general manager at the research department at Tachibana
Securities. 
    "Overall, the 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 2.53% and provided
the biggest boost to the Nikkei. SoftBank Group  9984.T 
followed suit with its 3.5% climb, while chip-making equipment
maker Tokyo Electron  8035.T  added 1.27%.
    Seiko Epson  6724.T  surged 8.78% 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 2.75% 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. 
    Staffing agency Recruit Holdings  6098.T  rose 6.3% and was
the top gainer among the top 30 core Topix names, followed by
lens maker Hoya  7741.T , which jumped 5.32%. 
    Touch panel maker Keyence  6861.T  fell 2.39% and was the
worst performer among the top 30, followed by air-conditioning
maker Daikin Industries Ltd  6367.T , which fell 1.28%.

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Aditya Soni and
Uttaresh.V)
 ((813-4563-2711, junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com, Reuters
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