Japan Nikkei hits fresh 29-year closing high

Japan share market finished at fresh 29-year high on Wednesday, 09 December 2020, as buying sentiment was strengthened by Wall Street records closing overnight on coronavirus vaccine progress and solid Japanese machinery orders data.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average advanced 350.86 points, or 1.33%, to 26,817.94. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 20.61 points, or 1.17%, to 1,779.42.

Investors were in an upbeat mood following Britain beginning its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with sentiment also bolstered by positive news from Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Inc. regarding their vaccination candidate.

 

Better than expected Japan's machinery orders data for October also helped underpin the market. Japan's core machinery orders rose 17.1% in October from the previous month. Compared with a year earlier, core orders, which exclude those for ships and electricity, rose 2.8% in October,

Also., Japan's household spending rose 1.9% in October from a year earlier, the first rise in 13 months, government data shows. The country's economy also grew an annualized 22.9% in the July-September period, better than the initial estimate of a 21.4% expansion, revised data from the Cabinet Office shows, as it rebounded from a COVID-induced recession.

Japan's cabinet is set to approve on Tuesday a third round of stimulus worth roughly 73.6 trillion yen ($706 billion), aiming to shore up an economy threatened by an upswing in coronavirus cases. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that the latest economic stimulus package to help the country recover from its coronavirus-driven slump likely will boost gross domestic product by around 3.6%.

Shares of SoftBank Group surged 5.57% on a news report about the company's plan to gradually buy back shares to go private. Hino leaped 4.19% thanks to the Tokai Tokyo Research Institute's lifting of its target stock price for the truck-maker. Industrial robot producer Fanuc jumped 2.98%, benefiting from better-than-expected core machinery orders in Japan in October. Among other leading gainers were optical equipment-maker Olympus and job information provider Recruit Holdings. On the other hand, major losers included beverage producer Kirin Holdings and parcel delivery firm Yamato Holdings.

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