Japan Nikkei surges on bargain buying

Japan share market finished session sharp higher on Thursday, 22 April 2021, as investors chased for bargain hunting after sharp losses during the previous two sessions and following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street. However, concerns over Japan's plan to reintroduce coronavirus-related lockdown in major cities amid the continuing surge in coronavirus cases limiting the markets' upside.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average surged 679.62 points, or 2.38%, to 29,188.17. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange spurted 32.32 points, or 1.82%, to 1,922.50.

Total 31 sub-indexes of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded higher, with Marine Transportation, Iron & Steel, Electric Appliances, Machinery, Precision Instruments, Pharmaceutical, and Chemicals issues being notable gainers.

Stocks bounced back as they fell too much during the previous two days and semiconductor issues supported the market" after U.S. and Dutch chip makers reported bullish earnings Wednesday.

Japan reported nationwide daily infections topped 5000 for the first time in three months. The Japanese government is considering issuing a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus for Tokyo and three western prefectures for a period from Sunday to May 11. The government is expected to make a final decision on Friday on the emergency declaration set to cover Tokyo as well as Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures where coronavirus cases are surging. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference that the government is considering details of the declaration, including its period. A government source said the emergency should be in place for about two weeks to implement restrictions intensively during the Golden Week holidays from late this month to early next month.

The major exporters were mostly higher, with Canon, Panasonic, and Mitsubishi Electric gained in-between 1% to 3%. Among the other major gainers, Mitsui OSK Lines and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha rose almost 5% each, while JFT Holdings and Olympus were up almost 4% each. Nippon Yusen, Sumco, Kikkoman, Nippon Steel, Rakuten, Chugai Pharmaceuticals and Terumo added more than 3% each.

SoftBank Group gained on following a news report that the investment and technology conglomerate reportedly plans to report record earnings next month, helped by an increase in the stock valuation of its tech-company investments.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen traded at 107.96 per dollar, stronger than levels above 108.4 against the greenback seen earlier in the week

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