TOKYO, Oct 22 ― Tokyo stocks advanced today as investors cheered news that the troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande had made a key interest payment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.34 per cent or 96.27 points to 28,804.85, a weekly loss of 0.91 per cent.
The broader Topix index edged up 0.07 per cent or 1.42 points to 2,002.23. Over the week, it declined 1.07 per cent.
The dollar stood at ¥113.94 (RM4.15) against ¥114.02 in New York late yesterday.
The Nikkei began the day in the red as the rise of the yen weighed on the market despite the S&P 500 finishing at a new record overnight with solid earnings lifting sentiment.
Rising US bond yields and the yen's appreciation weighed on exporters, but the headline index quickly emerged above water as bargain-hunters returned to the market.
“News that Evergrande made interest payments on US dollar-denominated bonds improved investor sentiment,” SMBC Nikko Securities said in a note.
Major semiconductor shares also firmed on strong earnings announcements from the sector, the brokerage added.
Investors were monitoring campaigning for Japan's October 31 national election and refrained from pushing the Nikkei to a higher range, analysts said.
Nissan gave up 1.39 per cent to ¥587.2 after a report said the carmaker would reduce production by 30 per cent from its initial plans in October and November.
Contacted by AFP, a company spokeswoman said: “We acknowledge that the semiconductor supply shortage is still in a difficult situation.
“We plan to give an update on the situation in our second-quarter financial results announcement in November.”
Chipmaker Kyocera added 0.39 per cent to ¥6,702. Its rival Rohm firmed 1.90 per cent to ¥10,210.
Disco, a major producer of cutting tools to create semiconductors, roared 2.99 per cent to 31,000 yen. Advantest, producer of testing kits for semiconductors, rose 1.79 per cent to 9,110.
Toshiba gave up 0.72 per cent to ¥4,825 after a report that merger talks between chip maker Kioxia ― sold by Toshiba in 2018 to a consortium led by US investment firm Bain Capital ― and Western Digital had stalled.
SoftBank Group added 0.55 per cent at ¥6,610 after the office-sharing company WeWork, which the Japanese investment giant owns a large stake in, made a strong Wall Street debut, and after it said its half-year dividend was unchanged at ¥22. ― AFP
