Tokyo stocks end higher on hopes for slower US rate hikes

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended higher on Tuesday, extending Wall Street rallies as investors hoped for slower US rate hikes while shifting focus to corporate earnings.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 1.02 percent, or 275.38 points, to 27,250.28, while the broader Topix index advanced 1.06 percent, or 19.95 points, at 1,907.14.

Global markets rallied as investors cheered a media report that said the Federal Reserve was leaning toward slowing down the pace of interest rate hikes in December.

Hopes for strong corporate earnings in the United States and Japan also lifted spirits, analysts said, as did political developments in Britain, where former finance minister Rishi Sunak was set to become prime minister.

But investors were also keeping an eye on China, as Xi Jinping’s third term as leader rekindled fears over economic restrictions and policies targeting tech firms.

The dollar fetched 148.87 yen in Asian trade, against 148.95 yen in New York late Monday.

Hopes are “gradually rising” for slower US rate hikes, said Chihiro Ohta, assistant general manager of investment research and investor services at SMBC Nikko Securities.

“Tokyo shares are a bargain,” he said, although the yen’s depreciation and suspected government interventions to prop up the value of the currency mean purchases by international investors are likely to trickle, not flood, in.

Market players are now shifting their focus to earnings reports from major US blue-chip shares such as 3M, General Motors and Coca-Cola, as well as Japanese businesses.

Among major shares in Tokyo, motor maker Nidec jumped 4.97 percent to 8,361 yen after the firm announced strong earnings.

Heavily weighted SoftBank Group surged 3.77 percent to 5,949 yen.

Shares related to energy and natural resources also enjoyed gains. Petrochemical firm Idemitsu Kosan rose 2.47 percent to 3,315 yen. Oil refiner Eneos Holdings added 2.20 percent to 492.7 yen.