TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average ended higher on Friday, tracking the Dow’s overnight gains, but pared a large chunk of its early gains as investors booked profits.
The Nikkei added 0.18% to close at 38,981.75, after rising as much as 0.7% earlier in the session. The index ended the week 1.75% lower.
The broader Topix ended 0.04% higher at 2,688.98, but posted a 0.68% weekly loss.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday advanced to its fourth record close in the last five sessions, as stronger-than-expected monthly retail sales indicated a robust US consumer and TSMC’s upbeat forecast buoyed chipmakers’ stocks.
“As the Nikkei got closer to the 40,000 level, investors sold stocks to book profits,” said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.
“That was because the market did not justify its recovery to the 40,000 level on Tuesday. The index rose too fast.” Uniqlo-owner Fast Retailing rose 1.06% to become the biggest support to the Nikkei. Chipmaking device supplier Disco jumped 7.67%.
Technology investor SoftBank Group lost 0.65% to weigh the most on the Nikkei.
Chip-related stocks Advantest and Tokyo Electron fell 0.42% and 0.13%, respectively. “Despite the yen’s weakness and the strength of US equities, gains of domestic shares are limited. That is partly due to uncertainties about Japanese politics,” said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.
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