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| - Tokyo stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday in cautious trade as fears mount over rising coronavirus infections in Japan. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.07 percent or 21.70 points to end at 29,642.69, while the broader Topix index rose 0.36 percent or 6.95 points to 1,959.13. "A wait-and-see stance was seen throughout the afternoon session ahead of the earnings season," said Okasan Online Securities senior strategist Yoshihiro Ito. Mizuho Securities also said investors were increasingly cautious with Japan's earnings season about to kick off. Traders were also digesting comments about the Tokyo Olympics, according to Okasan, after a senior Japanese politician said the Games must be cancelled "without hesitation" if the virus situation is too severe. Tokyo recorded 729 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, reports said -- the highest figure since early February. Record numbers of daily cases have also been reported in Osaka in recent days, and the government has been forced to authorise new restrictions just weeks after lifting a virus state of emergency. In Tokyo trading, Toshiba advanced 0.72 percent to 4,895 yen as investors watched developments in potential buyout offers for the Japanese engineering giant by foreign funds. The firm's CEO stepped down on Wednesday after a first buyout offer stirred internal turmoil. Automakers were higher with Toyota climbing 0.93 percent to 8,564 yen and its rival Honda growing 1.30 percent to 3,330 yen. Nissan jumped 1.39 percent to 582.3 yen. SoftBank Group gained 1.90 percent to 10,150 yen while Sony Group was up 0.12 percent to 12,205 yen. The dollar fetched 108.92 yen in Asian trade, against 108.94 yen in New York late Wednesday. kh-nf/kaf/oho
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