Japanese stocks closed higher on Thursday, July 7, as investors continued to seek to benefit from a decline in technology stocks, with sentiment boosted by the gains made by Wall Street overnight.
The Nikkei index rose 1.47% to close at 26,490.53 points, and the broader Topix index rose 1.42% to 1882.33 points.
Wall Street closed higher last night as investors digested the details of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes, which provided new signals about the US central bank’s policy on interest rates and anti-inflation.
The share of Tokyo Electron, which supplies chip-making equipment, rose 1.9%, in the largest support for the Nikkei index, followed by the share of the robotics maker Fanuc, which rose 3.75%, and Daikin Industries, the air conditioner maker, advanced 2.81%.
Travel and leisure stocks fell, with the airlines index and the railway companies index down 0.52% and 0.36%, respectively, amid a rise in coronavirus cases globally.
Department Store chain Takashimaya was the biggest loser on the Nikkei index, dropping 2.69%, followed by rival GFront Co., which dropped 2.28%.