Nikkei jumps 8 percent driven by Wall Street gains, Tokyo 2020 postponement
Tokyo, Mar.25 (efe-epa).- The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei index on Wednesday closed 8.04 percent up following gains registered by the Wall Street and positive reactions over the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, amid days of high volatility due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Nikkei gained 1,454.28 points or 8.04 percent in its highest intra-day jump since Mar.26,1990 to stand at 19,546.63 while the broader-based Topix index, which tracks the largest companies by market capitalization, rose 91.52 points or 6.87 percent to reach 1,424.62.
The Tokyo stock market displayed an upward trend driven by Wall Street gains, where the main indicator Dow Jones, had shot up 11.37 percent by closing on Tuesday.
The rise in the New York stock market came on the back of a $2 trillion stimulus package announced by White House and Senate leaders. The package aims to mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19.
Investor sentiment was also boosted by the decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympics 2020 by at least a year as it was felt that postponing the event had more positive economic implications compared to canceling it outright.
Japanese stocks reported gains across sectors, led by maritime transport, real estate and the iron and steel industry.
Stocks of tech giant Softbank gained 9.99 percent.
The company’s shares has also registered jumps of 18.95 percent and 18.6 percent in the last two days after it announced a multi-billion dollar asset sale and buyback to reduce its debt at a time of uncertainties around the viability of its investments.
Real estate companies Tokyu Fudosan, Sumitomo Realty & Development and Tokyo Tatemono registered the highest gains amid the 225 firms listed on the Nikkei index with 19.76 percent, 19.73 percent and 16.91 percent respectively.
Textile, plastic products and fiber glass manufacturer Unitika and Chugai pharmaceutical were the only stocks to record a 1.46 percent and 1.03 percent drop respectively.
Total trade volume stood at 3.73 trillion yen (around $33.5 billion), compared to the 4.01 trillion yen recorded on Tuesday. EFE-EPA
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