The Nikkei share average in Japan experienced a rise on Friday, bouncing back from significant losses in the previous session. This was attributed to a weaker yen, which had stabilized after reaching a three-decade low. During the midday break, the Nikkei had increased by 0.74% to reach 40,466.82 points, although it was still on track to record a 1% loss for the week.
The broader Topix index also saw a rise of 0.81% to 2,773.14 points, despite facing a potential loss of 1.4% for the week.
Fumio Matsumoto, the chief strategist at Okasan Securities, noted that the market rebounded from losses driven by technical issues the previous day. Despite concerns about potential currency intervention, investors generally viewed the weak yen as favorable for domestic stocks.
In Thursday's trading, the Nikkei had declined by 1.46%, influenced by stocks being discounted for dividend rights ahead of the fiscal year-end. Market sentiment remained cautious regarding the possibility of currency intervention to support the yen, which had reached a 34-year low against the dollar earlier in the week.
The yen was last observed trading at 151.34 against the dollar, showing a marginal gain of 0.03%.
Several notable stocks experienced gains, including Fast Retailing, the owner of the Uniqlo brand, which rose by 0.92%. Chip-related companies Tokyo Electron and Advantest also saw increases of 0.82% and 0.97%, respectively.
The property sector emerged as the top performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry indexes, surging by 3.12%. Leading the gains were Mitsui Fudosan, Tokyo Tatemono, and Sumitomo Realty & Development, each rising by approximately 4%.
The property sector's strong performance was supported by a government survey revealing the fastest rise in land prices in 33 years in 2023. Additionally, optimism regarding the Bank of Japan's gradual approach to interest rate hikes bolstered stock prices in the sector, according to Matsumoto from Okasan Securities.
Paraphrasing text from "Yahoo Finance" all rights reserved by the original author.
