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| - Tokyo stocks closed higher for the fourth straight day on Wednesday, helped by expectations the Japanese government would lift a state of emergency for some major cities on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 advanced 0.79 percent, or 161.70 points, to end at 20,595.15, while the broader Topix index closed up 0.58 percent, or 8.64 points, to 1,494.69. "Investor sentiment has improved on expectations that business will resume after the state of emergency is lifted," said Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito. Japan is reportedly planning to lift the state of emergency imposed due to the coronavirus for western Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures. The country lifted it for the majority of the country last week but kept it in place for top cities Tokyo and Osaka. Japan's virus outbreak remains small compared with those seen in parts of Europe and the United States, with over 16,000 confirmed infections recorded and 771 deaths. In Tokyo, Fujifilm dropped 2.56 percent to 4,936 yen after reports said its anti-flu drug Avigan, a candidate drug for treating the coronavirus, has not shown clear efficacy in treating the respiratory disease in clinical trials so far. Sony fell 2.24 percent to 6,747 yen after it said it plans to take subsidiary Sony Financial private in a tender offer at 2,600 yen per share. Sony Financial surged 7.58 percent to 2,595 yen. Mitsubishi Motors was down 1.01 percent to 294 yen after it reported its full-year operating profit dropped nearly 90 percent. Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing climbed 1.71 percent to 52,650 yen while SoftBank Group rose 1.00 percent to 4,539 yen. The dollar fetched 107.77 yen in Asian trade, against 107.66 yen in New York. kh-nf/ric/qan
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