Tokyo stocks advanced Friday morning on bargain-hunting following sharp declines the previous day, with buying also spurred by record-high closes on Wall Street overnight.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 298.75 points, or 0.74 percent, from Thursday to 40,466.82. The broader Topix index was up 22.33 points, or 0.81 percent, at 2,773.14.
The U.S. dollar was mostly capped in the lower 151 yen range in Tokyo amid wariness over possible yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities after the yen hit a 34-year low earlier this week.
At noon, the U.S. dollar fetched 151.30-33 yen compared with 151.33-43 yen in New York and 151.43-45 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0778-0780 and 163.09-13 yen against $1.0785-0795 and 163.21-31 yen in New York, and $1.0800-0801 and 163.55-59 yen in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon.
The benchmark price of gold set by Tokyo’s Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. hit an all-time high in yen value of 12,002 yen per gram, the major precious metal firm said, as demand for the safe asset has been growing due partly to rising geopolitical tensions around the world.
On the stock market, investors took cues from new record highs logged overnight by the U.S. Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes to scoop up a wide range of shares after the Nikkei fell almost 600 points the previous day, analysts said.
Investors are banking on demand for semiconductors to remain strong amid an artificial intelligence boom, while the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s market reforms, which encouraged listed companies to focus on enhancing shareholder value, have helped propel the Nikkei to new all-time highs, analysts said.
These “two engines are working effectively together to drive the market,” said Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist in the Investment Content Department of Nomura Securities Co.
