TOKYO: Tokyo stocks have closed 1.43 per cent higher, swept up in a global rally hours ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s hotly anticipated interest decision.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 260.67 points to 18,432.27 on Thursday.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares closed up 1.31 per cent, or 19.31 points, at 1,491.91.
Nikkei’s rally gained steam in the afternoon ahead of a meeting where the US central bank is considering whether or not to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006.
The Fed is scheduled to announce its decision at 1800 GMT (0400 AEST).
The US dollar rose to Y120.88 from Y120.61 on Wednesday in New York, as investors showed cautious optimism that the US central bank will delay the rate hike on concerns that it could hurt global growth, at a time when China’s economy suffers a slowdown.
“Asian markets are doing well today in cautious positioning ahead of the Fed rates decision, with currency moves in particular reflecting the general feeling that rates will be left unchanged,” Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG in Melbourne, said in an email.
Speculation about the Fed overshadowed Japanese trade export data for August showing Japan’s exports slowed for a second straight month and shipments to major trade partner China fell 4.6 per cent from a year earlier.
“The weakness (in Japan’s exports) is not only coming from China, but also from the US and Europe,” Junko Nishioka, chief economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, told AFP.
