Japan Stocks rebound on bargain hunting

The Japan share market advanced for the first time in five sessions in row on Wednesday, 19 February 2020, as investors chased for bottom fishing in heavily battered stocks following recent slumps. However, market gains capped amid weaker than expected trade data for January and lingering fears about the coronavirus epidemic impact on global economy and on global supply chains. Around late afternoon, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average advanced 195.28 points, or 0.84%, to 23,389.08, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 10.08 points, or 0.61%, at 1,675.79.

Total 26 issues of the 33 industry category of Topix index inclined into positive territory, with Precision Instruments, Rubber Products, Marine Transportation, Pharmaceutical, and Metal Products issues being notable gainers, while Iron & Steel and Banks issues were notable losers.

Market heavyweight SoftBank rose more than 1% and Fast Retailing added 0.4%. In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron were higher by more than 1% each.

The major exporters were mixed despite a weaker yen. Sony added almost 1% and Panasonic iwass unchanged, Among auto stocks, Toyota Motor fell 0.5% and Honda Motor was lower by 0.2%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan trade deficit stood at 1.31 trillion yen ($12 billion), following an upwardly revised 154.55 billion yen deficit in December, according to a preliminary report released by the Finance Ministry. Exports declined 2.6% from a year earlier to 5.43 trillion yen and imports fell 3.6% to 6.74 trillion yen. Japan exports to China dropped 6.4% to 896.57 billion yen, while imports were down 5.7% to 1.74 trillion yen, as a result, the balance stood at 838.53 billion yen in deficit. Japan's trade surplus with the United States inched up 0.3% to 369.23 billion yen.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen, often viewed as a safe-haven currency in times of economic uncertainty, appreciated against a basket of currencies. The Japanese yen traded at 109.95 against the dollar, little changed after hitting above the 110 level briefly last week.

Crude oil futures ended flat on Tuesday, with traders weighing the impact of the coronavirus on global energy demand and OPEC and allies' move on production cuts. WTI crude for March ended at $52.05 a barrel, unchanged from the previous close.

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