Tokyo's Nikkei closes up over 2.3%

TOKYO: Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index closed up more than 2.3 percent on Thursday as rallies on Wall Street helped encourage investors to buy on dips following recent declines.

The Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.38 percent, or 679.62 points, to 29,188.17, while the broader Topix index advanced 1.82 percent, or 34.32 points, to 1,922.50.

Tokyo shares opened higher following US rallies after a two-day retreat sparked partly by valuation fears.

"And gains continued expanding during the day as more investors bought back shares following sharp declines for the past two days," said Shinichi Yamamoto, a broker at Okasan Securities.

An expected further tightening of coronavirus restrictions as cases spike in Tokyo and several Japanese regions could generate worries over economic recovery, analysts warned.

"It will have a psychological impact but the actual impact on the economy could be limited," Yamamoto said.

The dollar fetched 107.97 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 108.07 yen in New York late Wednesday.

In Tokyo, Toshiba climbed 3.44 percent to 4,350 yen after reports said US private equity fund Bain Capital is considering acquiring its shares after the Japanese conglomerate said another fund, CVC, would await guidance on its buyout proposal.

Sony rose 1.25 percent to 11,720 yen after it reached a deal allowing Disney to broadcast and stream films from Sony Pictures after they run on Netflix, gaining access to future instalments of franchises such as "Spider-Man".

Toyota gained 1.89 percent to 8,368 yen and Nissan rose 0.56 percent to 550 yen after Japan's auto industry group said this year's Tokyo Motor Show was cancelled due to the pandemic.