TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rebounded on Tuesday from a steep fall the previous session, as bargain-buyers picked up oversold shares while eyeing developments in the eurozone.
The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.3 per cent to 20376.59, making up most of the ground lost in Monday’s 2.1 per cent drop, a reaction to a referendum on Sunday in Greece in which voters rejected the bailout terms on offer from the nation’s creditors.
Volume was far from robust, though. Just 2.2 billion shares changed hands, signaling a lack of investor appetite.
“Considering the lack of exposure of Japan Inc to Greece’s debt woes, Monday’s sell-off presented a gift buying opportunity, as corporate fundamentals remain sound and the Nikkei’s floor at 20,000 looks solid,” said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Plenty of people remain skeptical that the market has much further to rise in the short term, however.
“Stocks are cheaper and more attractive, but Greece’s situation remains in flux, and although harried meetings are being called in Europe to discuss the situation, the tension is likely to continue to simmer, making stocks risky to chase up too far,” said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
The market benefited from a relatively stable dollar and euro. As of the Tokyo Stock Exchange close at 0600 GMT, the pairs were changing hands at Y122.66 and at Y135.32, respectively.
Brisk futures buying helped to lift highly indexed shares. Fast Retailing, the Nikkei’s heaviest-weighted issue, rose 2.6 per cent, while telecom giants KDDI and SoftBank gained 2.8 per cent and 1.2 per cent.
