Japanese stocks rebound as U.S. futures rise

Recruit Holdings

18/10/2022 05:57

By Sam Byford
       TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks traded higher
on Tuesday after a rocky morning session, supported by a strong
overnight Wall Street performance and positive indications from
U.S. futures markets.
    The Nikkei index  .N225  rose as much as 1.7% in early
trade. But the index pared some gains and fell below the 27,000
psychological barrier, before rebounding to a gain of 1.59% at
27,202.70. 
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  rose 1.22%.
    "There is the fact that U.S. stocks were up yesterday
(Monday), but futures have also risen sharply — for example the
Dow Jones," said Yutaka Miura, a senior equities analyst at
Mizuho Securities.
    Dow Jones e-mini futures  YMc1  were last up 1.66%. "I think
the buying has been driven in anticipation of stocks rising on
Wall Street this evening," Miura said, pointing to similarly
strong performance in markets like South Korea and Hong Kong.
    Online healthcare services provider M3 Inc  2143.T  was the
best performer in the Nikkei, rising 5.17%. 
    Yamaha Corp  7951.T  was also a strong Nikkei performer, up
5.05%. Recruit Holdings Co Ltd  6098.T  was next, gaining 4.84%
after announcing a 150 billion yen ($1.01 billion) share buyback
program.
    Transportation shares continued to perform well following
last week's relaxing of border restrictions for tourists. East
Japan Railway Co  9020.T  gained 2.2%, and Topix airline stocks
 .IAIRL.T  were up 1.54%. 
    Every sector on the Nikkei advanced except utilities, which
fell 0.2%. Tokyo Gas Co Ltd  9531.T  made the biggest loss at
1.02%.
    Of the index's 225 constituents, 201 advanced, 21 fell, and
three traded flat.
    "I think Japanese stocks are more influenced by overseas
factors than domestic," Miura said, pointing to this week's
earnings reports from U.S. companies like Goldman Sachs  GS.N ,
Tesla  TSLA.O , and Netflix  NFLX.O .
    "There's a possibility that earnings announcements could be
an important factor this week," he said.
($1 = 148.9000 yen)
 (Reporting by Sam Byford; editing by Uttaresh.V)
 ((Sam.Byford@thomsonreuters.com;))