The Nikkei Star Index rose 3.46% to 26,652.89 points and the Topix Expanded Index gained 2.47% to 1,899.01 points.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed sharply higher on Thursday, driven by the strength of Chinese stock markets, the Fed’s comments the day before and hopes of an easing of the war in Ukraine.
The Nikkei Star Index rose 3.46% to 26,652.89 points and the Topix Expanded Index gained 2.47% to 1,899.01 points.
Japanese stocks were notably “supported by the absence of surprises” at the end of the meeting of the monetary committee of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) and by the rise in American stocks on Wednesday, commented Okasan Online Securities in a note. .
The Fed announced on Wednesday an increase in its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point, for the first time since December 2018, a decision that the markets had however anticipated.
The words of its president Jerome Powell, who judged that the American economy was “strong enough” to absorb the interest rate increases, also reassured the markets.
Oil prices also continued to fall on Wednesday, almost returning to their level before the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, weighed down by fears of a slowdown in demand for black gold, amid optimism about the talks. ceasefire between Moscow and kyiv.
The Chinese government’s promise on Wednesday to support the markets to guarantee their stability, which again sent Chinese stock markets off the ground on Thursday, also supported the Tokyo market.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index climbed 5.6% around 06:30 GMT. Shanghai gained 1.5% and Shenzhen 2.5%.
On the side of values
CHINA-RELATED VALUES TAKE OFF: the jump in the Chinese stock markets pushed up some Japanese stocks such as that of the technology investment giant SoftBank Group (+5.88% to 4,785 yen), the largest shareholder of Chinese Alibaba, or the electronics company Omron (+6, 03% to 7,955 yen) and the toilet manufacturers Toto (+8.48% to 4,860 yen), very present on the Chinese market.
On the side of oil and currencies
Oil was moving up: around 06:20 GMT the price of a barrel of American WTI regained 1.75% to 96.70 dollars and that of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea rose 1.8% to 99.78 dollars.
In the currency market, the dollar was stagnant against the yen, at 118.76 yen to the dollar around 06:30 GMT, against 118.73 yen on Wednesday at 21:00 GMT.
The euro did not evolve against the Japanese currency either, worth 131.01 yen against 131.02 yen the day before, while being almost stable against the greenback, at 1.1032 dollar against 1.1035 dollar on Wednesday .