Japan's Nikkei hits year high on hopes for tech earnings

Mitsui E&S

24/10/2019 03:59

By Stanley White
    TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei index rose to the
highest in more than a year on Thursday, as
semiconductor-related shares bounced back from recent losses on
optimism for improved corporate earnings.
    By 0208 GMT, the Nikkei benchmark share average  .N225  was
up 0.63% at 22,767.24. It earlier rose to 22,774.70, the highest
since Oct. 18, 2018. So far it is up 13% for the year.
    Shares rose for the fourth consecutive trading session as
investors who recently sold off Japanese technology stocks
turned into bargain hunters following Microsoft Corp's  MSFT.O 
higher-than-expected sales forecasts for its cloud computing
services.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2781Q9
    A slightly weaker yen also supported share prices of Japan's
major exporters, because this tends to boost earnings
repatriated from overseas.
    There were 176 advancers on the Nikkei index against 44
decliners on Thursday.
    The information and technology sector was the biggest
gainer, rising 0.19%. Chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo
Electron Ltd  8035.T  rose 1.89%, while electronic devices maker
Kyocera Corp  6971.T  gained 0.92%.
    The largest percentage gainers in the Nikkei index were
parcel delivery and logistics firm Yamato Holdings Co Ltd
 9064.T  up 4.25%, followed by Hino Motors Ltd  7205.T  rising
4.17%, and Mitsui E&S Holdings Co Ltd  7003.T  up by 4.03%.
    The largest percentage losses in the index were Toray
Industries Inc  3402.T  down 3.73%, followed by SoftBank Group
Corp  9984.T  losing 2.6% and Teijin Ltd  3401.T  down by 1.69%.
    Softbank's shares hit their lowest since Jan. 30 on Thursday
on continued worries that its finances will weaken due to its
bailout of office-space sharing startup WeWork.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2781V5
    The broader Topix index  .TOPX  rose 0.47% to 1,645.89.    
    The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board  .TOPX  was 0.61 billion, compared with the average
of 1.24 billion in the past 30 days.

 (Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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