Tokyo stocks rebound on weaker yen

Stocks turned higher on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Wednesday, helped by the yen’s fall against the dollar.

The 225-issue Nikkei average gained 129.70 points, or 0.66 percent, to finish at 19,742.98. On Tuesday, the key market gauge shed 65 points.

The Topix index of all first-section issues closed up 9.89 points, or 0.63 percent, at 1,575.11, after losing 2.43 points the previous day.

Investors took heart from the dollar’s rise against the yen on the back of higher U.S. long-term interest rates, brokers said.

Rises in U.S. equities and crude oil futures in New York on Tuesday also spurred purchases of a wide range of issues in Tokyo Wednesday, they added.

But the Nikkei average failed to retake 19,800 line “amid a dearth of (buying) incentives after (major Japanese) companies have finished releasing their earnings reports,” said Hideyuki Suzuki, head of the investment market research department at SBI Securities.

Suzuki also said market players retreated to the sidelines ahead of the general meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna on Thursday.

A senior official at a major securities firm said he thought overseas investors “would step up purchases of undervalued Japanese stocks.” But such moves have not been seen, according to the official.

However, “the Nikkei average is expected to reach 20,000 this week or next reflecting the brisk U.S. market” even if the dollar does not gain markedly, above ¥115 for instance, the official said.

Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,427 to 466 in the TSE’s first section, while 123 issues were unchanged.

Volume rose to 1.73 billion shares from Tuesday’s 1.54 billion shares.

The weaker yen supported such export-oriented names as semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron, electronics maker Fujitsu, electronic parts supplier Nidec and automaker Toyota.

V-Technology jumped 6.54 percent after the precision equipment maker said Tuesday it has received a ¥13 billion order from a major foreign flat panel display maker.

Other major winners included game-maker Nintendo and mega-bank groups Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui.

By contrast, Shimamura plunged 9.72 percent as investor sentiment was battered by the clothing retailer’s dismal sales announced on Tuesday, brokers said.

Also on the minus side were real estate developer Leopalace21 and real estate information provider Lifull.

In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key June contract on the Nikkei average rose 100 points to 19,740.