2020-12-17 13:35:00
JAPAN STOCKS UP
REUTERS - DECEMBER 17, 2020 - Japanese shares closed higher for a second straight session on Thursday as expectations for further U.S. economic stimulus and a pledge of support from the Federal Reserve lifted sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 Index closed up 0.18% at 26,806.67, reversing losses from morning trade. The broader Topix rose 0.32% to 1,792.58.
Some traders were slightly cautious as Japan grapples with a third wave of infections, but positive developments in the United States offered support.
Top Democrats and Republicans sounded hopeful about agreeing on a $900 billion COVID-19 aid bill, and the Fed vowed to keep pouring cash into financial markets until its economy is on a sound footing.
Stocks could easily fall on profit-taking after the Nikkei hit a 29-1/2-year high last week, but analysts have an upbeat mid-term outlook.
“Excessive amounts of liquidity provided by central banks have been the backbone of stock markets this year, and this will continue into next year,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Top gainers among the top 30 core Topix names were Nintendo Co Ltd, up 6.61 %, followed by Keyence Corp, up 5.3%.
The underperformers were Daiichi Sankyo Co, down 4.40%, followed by Central Japan Railway Co, losing 2.23%.
Japan Post Insurance rose 10.05% on media reports that it would buy back $2.9 billion of its own shares from its parent Japan Post Holdings, whose shares rose 3.58%.
Fujifilm Holdings fell 3.0% after a media report said that Japan’s government concluded it could not measure the effectiveness of the company’s Avigan drug as a treatment for COVID-19.
There were 56 advancers on the Nikkei index against 166 decliners .
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main board was 0.98 billion, compared with the average of 1.35 billion in the past 30 days.
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Earlier:
2020, December, 16, 12:25:00
ASIA STOCKS UP
China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index added 0.15% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.86%.
2020, December, 11, 11:00:00
JAPAN STOCKS DOWN
MSCI’s ex-Japan Asia-Pacific index firmed 0.3%, on track for its sixth straight week of gains, while Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.4%.
2020, December, 10, 12:00:00
ASIA'S RENEWABLE STOCKS UP
The region has seen growing awareness of climate change with China, Japan and South Korea earlier this year committing to achieving net-zero emissions in the coming decades.
2020, December, 4, 12:20:00
JAPAN'S CARBON NEUTRALITY
In October 2020, the Japanese government presented a plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
2020, November, 27, 11:25:00
JAPAN'S NIKKEI UP TO 26 644,71
Nikkei rose 0.41% to close at 26,644.71. The index has gained 15.96% this month, and is on track for its best performance since January 1994. The broader Topix rose 0.47% to hit a 25-month high at 1,786.52.
2020, November, 23, 12:10:00
ASIAN SHARES UP
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.71% on Monday,
