TOKYO: Tokyo stocks shed early losses to end marginally higher Thursday, as gains by Chinese shares encouraged investors.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.15 percent, or 41.21 points, to 28,457.68, while the broader Topix index rose 0.43 percent, or 8.61 points, to 2,032.51.
During early trade, the market came under broad selling pressure on lingering concerns about the health of US regional banks and general worries about the global economy.
“But the market gradually started to see positive reactions to solid corporate earnings announcements and various measures to give returns to shareholders,” IwaiCosmo Securities said in a note.
“Solid performance by Asian shares prompted buying” in Tokyo, helping the Nikkei finish in the black, the brokerage added.
Some investors refrained from making major moves while they waited for the Bank of Japan to finish its first two-day policy meeting under new governor Kazuo Ueda, who will address the media on Friday.
The dollar was at 133.81 yen against 133.64 yen in New York on Wednesday.
Air carrier ANA Holdings fell 1.54 percent to 2,885 yen. After the market closed, the company said it returned to profit in the year to March, rebounding from deep losses due to the pandemic.
The company said it expected its annual operating profit to rise more than 16 percent for this year to March 2024.
Canon jumped 5.19 percent at 3,162 yen after it raised its full-year to December operating profit forecast.
Toyota rose 1.19 percent to 1,825 yen, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 2.00 percent to 860.1 yen.
Advantest plunged 9.21 percent to 10,550 yen after its full-year to March operating profit forecast was lower than market expectations.
SoftBank Group fell 1.83 percent to 4,948 yen.
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