TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rebounded more than 2% on Tuesday, as chip-related shares tracked their US peers higher.
The Nikkei had risen 2.44% to 40,264.5 by the midday break, after a 1.47% drop in the previous session.
“It looks like the market is betting on potential for large stocks, which are preferred by foreign investors,” said Kentaro Hayashi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Overnight, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose to more than one-week highs, boosted by a rally in semiconductor stocks and a report that suggested the incoming Trump administration could adopt a less aggressive tariff stance than expected.
The broader Topix rose 1.31% to 2,792.49.
The Topix Core 30, made up of top 30 firms, climbed 1.96%, while the Topix Small, which consists of stocks excluding the top 500, edged up 0.23%.
Among individual stocks, chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron surged 10.35% to provide the biggest boost to the Nikkei. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest jumped 7.05%.
Chip-maker Renesas Electronics rose 7.62% and chip-making device supplier Disco climbed 7.99%.
Japan’s Nikkei rises as tech shares gain
Banks gained as Japanese government bond yields rose, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group up 3.47% and 2.75%, respectively.
Cosmetics maker Kao fell 1.46% to weigh on the Nikkei the most.
Nippon Steel slipped 1.46%.
The steel maker’s chief executive said on Tuesday that the firm would never give up on expanding in the United States.
US President Joe Biden unlawfully blocked Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid for US Steel through a sham national security review, the companies alleged in a lawsuit filed on Monday.
Of more than 1,600 shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s prime market, 53% rose and 42% fell, with 3% trading flat.
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