Japan's Nikkei tracks Wall Street higher; Fed policy meeting in focus

Shin-Etsu Chemical

30/04/2024 07:52

(Updates at 0600 GMT)
       TOKYO, April 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
rose on Tuesday, underpinned by  overnight strong finish on Wall
Street, while investors await the outcome of the U.S. Federal
Reserve's two-day meeting to determine the fate of the yen.
    The Nikkei  .N225  rose 1.24% to close at 38,405.66. 
    The index marked its first monthly decline this year,
falling 4.99% in April in its biggest monthly drop since
December 2022.  
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  jumped 2.2% to 2,743.17.
    "The U.S. equities were strong since the end of the last
week, while the U.S. yields traded lower. That underpinned
Japanese stocks today," Shoji Hosoi, senior strategist, Daiwa
Securities said.
    Markets in Japan were closed on Monday.
    Shares of chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron
 8035.T  rose 2.6%. Silicon-wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical
 4063.T  surged 4.89% and technology investor SoftBank Group
 9984.T  gained 1.71%.
    The markets' focus is now on the U.S. Fed's policy meeting
this week after Japan's currency  JPY=EBS  surged as much as 5
yen against the dollar from a 34-year low of 160.245 on Monday
in what traders cited as intervention.  FRX/ 
    "Whether or not what the market thought was an intervention
yesterday was a success is not known. Because the yen could
spike 160 to the dollar again if the Fed's message is hawkish
after its meeting," Daiwa's Hosoi said.
    Japanese authorities have not confirmed that they had
stepped into the currency market in support of the yen.
 MKTS/GLOB 
    Among individual stocks, shares of KFC Holdings  9873.T 
gained 5.46% after local media reported U.S. buyout fund Carlyle
is close to acquiring the operator of Kentucky Fried Chicken
outlets. 
    Sumitomo Corp  8053.T  jumped 6.29% after a report said U.S.
fund Elliott built a "large stake" in the trading firm. 
    Of the 225 components on the Nikkei, 187 stocks rose and 38
fell.

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))