Japan Nikkei rebounds 0.7%

Japan share market finished session modestly higher on Wednesday, 14 December 2022, as appetite for riskier assets underpinned on following overnight rally on Wall Street after the latest U.S. inflation showed that consumer prices rose less than expected in November, signalling that inflationary pressures could be starting to ease.

However, market gains capped as investors were cautiously awaiting for more hints on the Fed's path from the decision later Wednesday and Chair Jerome Powell's briefing. The U.S. Federal Reserve concludes its last meeting of 2022 on Wednesday and economists widely expect the central bank to raise rates by half a%age point. Thursday will also see monetary policy decisions from the Bank of England, European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average index advanced 201.36 points, or 0.72%, to 28,156.21. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 11.74 points, or 0.6%, to 1,977.42.

Total 29 of 33 TSE sectors closed higher, with Textiles & Apparels issue outperformed with gain of 3%. Meanwhile, Precision Instruments (up 1.5%), Mining (up 1.2%), Nonferrous Metals (up 1.2%), Fishery, Agriculture & Forestry (up 1.1%), and Iron & Steel (up 1.1%) sectors were notable gainers. Air Transportation issue was worst performer, falling 0.9%.

Shares of economically-sensitive companies advanced, with Shin-Etsu Chemical, a maker of semiconductor silicon wafers, rising 3% to 17,780 yen, while chip-manufacturing equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 1.9% to 46,150 yen.

Exporters shares declined after the yen appreciated to upper 134 level against greenback. Mitsubishi Motors fell 3.8% to 581 yen. Hino Motors slid 1.7% to 584 yen.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Large manufacturing in Japan weakened in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan Survey of business sentiment showed on Wednesday with a diffusion index score of +7. That beat forecasts for a reading of +6 but was down from +8 three months ago. The outlook came in at +6, matching expectations and down from +9 in the previous quarter. Large all industry capex is now seen higher by 19.2%, down from 21.5% in the previous three months. The large non-manufacturers index came in at +19, beating forecasts for +17 and up from +14. The outlook was +11, missing forecasts for +16 and unchanged from three months earlier.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen appreciated 0.47% to 134.96 against US dollar in Asian trade after trading in range between 134.60-135.74. JPY/USD closed at 135.57 on Tuesday.

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