schema:articleBody
| - Tokyo stocks rallied on Thursday as major high-tech shares rebounded, with the Nasdaq back on the upswing after a pullback. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.88 percent, or 202.93 points, to 23,235.47, while the broader Topix index jumped 1.21 percent, or 19.46 points, to 1,624.86. "The gain in the Nasdaq encouraged investors to buy back electronics and other high-tech shares," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 2.7 percent, leading rebound on the three major indices on Wall Street. "Buying sentiment was also supported by the news that a vaccine trial could soon resume," Horiuchi told AFP. Investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank's meeting later in the day as its decision could move currency rates, brokers said. The dollar fetched 106.13 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 106.12 yen in New York late Wednesday. In Tokyo, SoftBank Group, which has heavily invested in US high-tech shares, jumped 2.16 percent to 5,800 yen following a five-day losing streak. Gaming giant Nintendo surged 1.98 percent to 59,030 yen and Sony jumped 1.70 percent to 8,216 yen. But some chip-linked shares remained under selling pressure. Chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron lost 1.67 percent to 25,590 yen while Advantest, creator of semiconductor testing equipment, fell 1.30 percent to 4,915 yen. si/sah/fox
|