January 26, 2016 - 4:27 PM EST
Print Email Article Font Down Font Up
UPDATE1: Tokyo stocks rebound sharply as oil prices bounce back

Tokyo
stocks rebounded sharply Wednesday as oil prices bounced back, but investors remained nervous about the outcomes of policy meetings of the
U.S.
Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 455.02 points, or 2.72 percent, from Tuesday at 17,163.92. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 40.47 points, or 2.98 percent, higher at 1,400.70.

Every industry category on the main section gained ground, led by finance stocks, pulp and paper, and banks.

After opening higher following losses the previous day,

Tokyo
stocks continued to climb, briefly gaining more than 500 points. They slightly lost steam as
Shanghai
stocks lagged, but maintained their upward momentum throughout the day.

"Oil has been the main driver of sentiment in the

Tokyo
stock market," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co., said.

Miura said stocks have been tracking the volatile swings in oil prices, with equities falling when crude prices tumble and jumping when they rebound.

"Cheap crude prices could be a positive factor for the real economy, but investors are now paying more attention to their negative aspects," Miura added.

Crude oil futures bounced back above the $30-a-barrel line, rising to $31.45 in

New York
on Tuesday.

The rebound came amid rumors that some members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may be willing to consider production cuts, analysts said.

They added, however, that investors refrained from making bold moves before the

U.S.
and Japanese central banks end their policy meetings later Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

"There is broad speculation that the Fed could signal a slower pace of rate hikes this year and that the BOJ could unveil fresh stimulus or at least hint at it," said Chihiro Ota, general manager of investment research at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.

Tokyo
stocks are likely to react greatly to the outcomes, he said.

On the First Section, advancing issues trounced declining issues 1,831 to 78, while 24 ended the day unchanged.

Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor rose on reports Wednesday that the two car companies have begun tie-up talks for compact vehicles in emerging economies, including

India
. Suzuki Motor spiked 366 yen, or 11.4 percent, to 3,590 yen, while Toyota Motor jumped 252 yen, or 3.8 percent, to 6,881 yen.

Sony climbed 82 yen, or 3.4 percent, to 2,512 yen after the electronics company said Tuesday it will acquire Israeli chip manufacturer Altair Semiconductor.

Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group jumped 338 yen, or 7.0 percent, to 5,187 yen after the telecommunication firm's

U.S.
unit Sprint posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and raised its earnings outlook Tuesday, analysts said.

Resource-related issues tracked moves in oil prices, with Cosmo Energy Holdings climbing 39 yen, or 3.1 percent, to 1,281 yen.

Trading volume on the main section rose to 2,257.57 million shares from Tuesday's 2,157.29 million shares.

==Kyodo

DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not represent the views of equities.com. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please go to: http://www.equities.com/disclaimer


Source: Equities.com News (January 26, 2016 - 4:27 PM EST)

News by QuoteMedia
www.quotemedia.com

Legal Notice