Japanese stocks rise on robust US tech earnings, weakening yen

Japanese stocks rose on buying fueled by robust earnings from major US tech companies Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. and better-than-expected results from domestic names such as Hitachi Ltd. and Fujitsu Ltd. A weakening of the yen against the dollar also served as a tailwind.

The Topix Index rose 1.2% to 3,341.49 as of 9:41 a.m. Tokyo time

The Nikkei advanced 1.8% to 52,243.80

Sectors including electronics, precision instruments, trading companies and communications gained alongside domestic demand-related stocks, such as food and real estate. Out of 1,673 stocks in the index, 1,123 rose and 459 fell, while 91 were unchanged.

Hitachi contributed the most to the Topix Index gain, increasing 9.6%. Nissan Motor Co. shares fell after the company forecast an operating loss of ¥275 billion for the current fiscal year.

“The solid performance of artificial intelligence-related companies, such as Amazon, which have made large investments, eases market concerns about overinvestment,” Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

Domestic company earnings so far are “fairly decent, showing increased revenue and profits on a quarterly basis,” he said.

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