TOKYO: Japanese stocks rose, with the Topix index headed for its first gain this week, after calm returned to global markets as China halted trading for a two-day holiday.
Toshiba Corp. gained 3.5 percent after a report it will release earnings this week following delays caused by an accounting scandal. Carrier NTT Docomo Inc. jumped 7 percent and freight transporter Nippon Express Co. added 4 percent after Barclays Plc. raised its ratings on the companies. Machinery maker Furukawa Co. Ltd. fell 1.8 percent to lead declines on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average.
The Topix gained 2 percent to 1,495.74 as of 12:41 p.m. in Tokyo as all of its 33 industry groups rose amid volume 11 percent below the 30-day intraday average. The Nikkei 225 added 1.7 percent to 18,396.08. The yen traded at 120.64 per dollar after weakening 0.8 percent on Wednesday. The rout in global stocks eased on Wednesday, with U.S. equities surging in late trading to halt a two-day slump after Chinese shares ended their last day of trading this week with the smallest loss since mid-August.
“One modest positive today is the fact China is offline for its Victory Day commemorations,” said Chris Weston, Melbourne-based chief markets strategist at IG Ltd. “So traders and investors will be focused on domestic data, valuations and trying to understand how to navigate these crazy markets.”
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.1 percent after the underlying measure rose 1.8 percent on Wednesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent.
A rout in global equities last month, sparked by China’s devaluation of its currency, erased more than $5.7 trillion from the value of global shares amid growing concern that the world’s second-biggest economy may be in worse shape than analysts had estimated.
