In today’s trading, Asian shares showed mixed performance with Tokyo’s benchmark recovering and stabilizing after last week’s sharp decline. Ja
In today’s trading, Asian shares showed mixed performance with Tokyo’s benchmark recovering and stabilizing after last week’s sharp decline.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged after being closed yesterday, increasing by 3.2% and reaching 36,156.47.
Tokyo’s demand for computer chip stocks was strong, with Tokyo Electron climbing 6.2%, reflecting the robust performance of tech stocks on Wall Street.
Investor sentiment also seemed to improve as the recently volatile yen showed signs of stabilizing. While a weaker yen benefits Japan’s major exporters, like Toyota Motor Corp., by increasing the value of overseas earnings when converted to yen, it also gradually diminishes the nation’s purchasing power.
The Nikkei 225 and the Topix have each dropped by more than 7% since the end of July, following the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise its benchmark interest rate and announce plans to scale back bond purchases. Both indices entered a bear market on August 5, after losses surpassed 20%.
The rate hike initially boosted the yen, but gains were tempted when the central bank clarified that it wouldn’t tighten policy too rapidly to avoid further market turbulence. This led to a global unwinding of carry trades, where investors had used the yen to finance purchases of assets ranging from stocks to emerging market bonds.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slightly decreased by 0.1% to 17,104.82. The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.4% to 2,846.40.
South Korea’s Kospi remained mostly flat, inching up less than 0.1% to 2,618.36. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged up by nearly 0.2% to 7,826.80.
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