Tokyo stocks rebounded to end Wednesday higher, though nervous investors continue to keep close track of soaring tensions in Asia after North Korea tested its first rocket capable of striking the United States. Washington confirmed Tuesday that Pyongyang's latest rocket test was of an intercontinental ballistic missile, ratcheting up pressure in an already tense crisis on the peninsula.
Worried traders flooded out of equities and into safe-haven assets in early trade but settled through the day and returned to buying, with a weakening yen boosting exporters. The dollar fetched 113.21 yen against the day's low of 112.80 yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.25 percent, or 49.28 points, to 20,081.63, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues added 0.55 percent, or 8.93 points, to 1,618.63.
"After opening with sell orders leading the way, the market extended losses on reports related to North Korea's nuclear test," SMBC Nikko Securities said in a commentary. "As the dollar switched course and the yen weakened, share prices also started rising again," SMBC Nikko said. Toyota rose 1.55 percent to 6,154 yen after news that June vehicle sales in China rose 10 percent on-year, while Sony added 0.78 percent to 4,270 yen. SoftBank lost 0.33 percent to 8,957 yen and another market heavyweight Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo fashion brand, fell 0.85 percent to 37,310 yen.
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