TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed higher as bargain-hunting, helped by a cheaper yen, overwhelmed losses in early trade.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.62 percent, or 164.62 points, at 26,643.39 while the broader Topix index rose 0.23 percent, or 4.28 points, to 1,893.13.

The dollar fetched 138.36 yen, up from 137.36 yen seen Wednesday in New York.

The market scoured fresh US consumer price data that rose a whopping 9.1 percent in June, worse than expected.

But with officials having given advance warnings about a high reading, the shock to the market was relatively contained.

The moderate loss on Wall Street led to “receding excessive worries” over rate hikes-linked slowdown, while a cheaper yen against the dollar “prompted purchases in export-oriented shares,” Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

Japan’s Nikkei gains as chip stocks, airlines boost

Among key shares in Tokyo, Panasonic Holdings was up 0.72 percent at 1,119 yen after the Tesla supplier announced a $4 billion plan to build a new electric vehicle battery factory in Kansas, creating 4,000 new jobs.

Shipping firms rallied, with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines ending up 2.42 percent at 3,170 yen and Kawasaki Kisen up 3.86 percent at 8,070 yen.

Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing closed up 1.49 percent at 70,130 yen.

After the market close, the fast fashion operator posted a 57 percent year-on-year jump in net profit for the nine months to May thanks to strong sales and inflated overseas profits due to a cheaper yen. It raised full-year sales and profit forecasts.