Japan's Topix rises on cyclicals boost, weak chip shares cap gains
25/03/2021 02:36
TOKYO, March 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Topix was set to snap a
three-day losing streak on Thursday, as investors scooped up
beaten-down cyclical stocks, although gains were capped by
chip-related shares that tracked the Nasdaq lower.
The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.91% to 1,946.16 by 0150
GMT, while the Nikkei 225 Index .N225 gained 0.33% to
28,499.42.
"There were a lot of pessimistic news that prompted
investors to sell cyclical shares (yesterday). They are buying
back those today," Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the
investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.
Banking stocks led the gains on Topix, with Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group 8306.T rising 2.13% and Sumitomo Mitsui
Financial Group 8316.T jumping 2.53%. Mizuho Financial Group
8411.T gained 2.41%>
Toyota Motor 7203.T edged up 0.43% after the automaker
revived a partnership with Isuzu Motor 7202.T to boost their
competitive edge in connected, commercial vehicles, with
Toyota's truck unit Hino Motors Ltd 7205.T joining in the
pact. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2LM06K
Isuzu fell 1.01%, while Hino slumped 6.59% following a surge
on the news on Wednesday, making it the biggest loser on the
Nikkei index.
Chip-related shares fell, with Advantest 6857.T losing
2.78% and Tokyo Electron 8035.T losing 2.76%. They tracked a
weak show by the Nasdaq overnight. .N
Tech investor SoftBank Group 9984.T fell 3.14%.
All but three of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
exchange traded higher, with highly cyclical material sectors
being among the top gainers on the main bourse.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were Fanuc Corp 6954.T up 2.88%, followed by Hitachi
6501.T , rising 2.62%.
The largest percentage gainers in the Nikkei index were
Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co Ltd 5706.T up 4.99%, followed by
Konica Minolta 4902.T , gaining 4.45 % and Aozora Bank 8304.T
up 4.35%.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; editing by Uttaresh.V)
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