Japan Stocks gain on hopes for U.S. economic restart

Stocks in Japan market advanced strongly on Friday, 17 April 2020, as new guidelines allowing for a reopening of the US economy supported risk sentiment and eased some concerns over the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. Investor sentiment also received a boost after a report said that a Gilead Sciences drug, remdesivir, showed promising results in treating COVID-19 patients. Around late afternoon, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average surged 560.31 points, or 2.9%, to 19,850.51. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange advanced 17.91 points, or 1.26%, at 1,440.15.

More than two third issues of 33 industry category of Topix index were in positive territory, with Marine Transportation, Transportation Equipment, Nonferrous Metals, Iron & Steel, Rubber Products, and Machinery issues being notable gainers, while Land Transportation, Fishery, Agriculture & Forestry, and Pulp & Paper issues were notable losers.

Japanese shares were supported by sharp rises in US stocks as President Donald Trump vowed to press ahead with reopening the economy. US President Donald Trump laid out a strategy to phase out the month-long economic shutdown aimed at stanching the coronavirus pandemic, despite concerns from health experts, governors and business leaders about the dangers of lifting restrictions without widespread testing in place.

Another 5.2 million more Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, the Labour Department reported on Thursday, lifting total filings for claims over the past month to more than 20 million.

The market largely shrugged off mixed set of data points on China's economy. China's National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday that the country's economic output shrank 6.8% from January through March compared to the same period last year. Industrial production dropped 8.4% in the first quarter, and marked a 1.1% decline in March. Fixed-asset investment fell 16.1% in the first quarter. Retail sales fell 19% in the first quarter. Sales of consumer goods fell 15.8% in March, while online sales of physical goods rose 5.9%.

Tokyo-listed chipmaking-related stocks were in demand, with chip-making gear manufacturer Tokyo Electron Ltd rising 4% and test device maker Advantest Corp soaring 5%, after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker whose clients include iPhone maker Apple Inc, reported a near doubling in first-quarter net profit.

CURRENCY: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 99.821, slipping back below the 100 barrier. The Japanese yen traded at 107.79 per dollar, having seen levels below 107.4 earlier in the trading week.

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