Tokyo stocks snapped a four-day losing streak Tuesday, boosted by a rebound on Wall Street and a fall in the yen's value against the dollar. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.79 percent or 375.67 points to 21,417.76 while the broader Topix index was up 1.27 percent or 21.51 points at 1,716.30.
"It's buybacks that boosted the market today," said Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre. "US stocks rebounded and the (dollar) rate bounced back into the 106 yen range," improving investor sentiment, he said.
But investors were unwilling to go on a major buying spree ahead of key US jobs data on Friday, he added. All three major indices on Wall Street rose on Monday, with investors seemingly persuaded President Donald Trump's recent threats to launch a trade war were actually a bargaining tactic.
The president on Monday indicated he might consider exempting Canada and Mexico from steel and aluminium import tariffs if he likes the outcome of pending trade talks. The yen stayed weak after falling on Monday, with the dollar trading at 106.19 yen on Tuesday against 106.18 yen in New York on Monday afternoon and the 105-yen range in Tokyo earlier.
A lower yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes exported goods cheaper and inflates overseas profits when repatriated. Carmakers were broadly higher. Honda jumped 1.60 percent to 3,666 yen and Toyota rose 0.99 percent to 6,882 yen.
Steelmakers also bounced back with Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal rising 0.96 percent to 2,399.5 yen. Kobe Steel closed up a fractional 0.09 percent at 1,110 yen moments before its chief executive Hiroya Kawasaki announced he was stepping down to take responsibility for a data-faking scandal.
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