Nikkei hits 5-week high on hopes of U.S. economy re-opening, cyclicals jump

SYDNEY, April 17 (Reuters) - Japan's share benchmark Nikkei
climbed to its highest levels in more than five weeks on Friday,
tracking gains in U.S. futures, supported by President Donald
Trump's guidelines for re-opening the economy and on reports of
a potential coronavirus treatment.
The Nikkei average .N225 gained as much as 3.1% to
19,892.96, its intraday high since March 11, and ended the
morning session 2.6% higher at 19,782.35.
The Nikkei's volatility index .JNIV , a measure of
investors' volatility expectations based on option pricing and
considered to be a fear gauge, dropped to as low as 35.31, its
six-week low.
U.S. stock futures jumped in Asian trade after Trump
unveiled guidelines for re-opening the economy and a report of
promising early data related to a potential COVID-19 treatment
from Gilead Sciences Inc GILD.O , with S&P 500 e-minis ESc1
last trading up 3.3%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) 2330.TW ,
the world's largest contract chipmaker whose clients include
iPhone maker Apple Inc AAPL.O , reported a near doubling in
first-quarter net profit. Taking a positive cue from this, Tokyo-listed
chipmaking-related stocks were in demand, with chip-making gear
manufacturer Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T rising 3.7% and test
device maker Advantest Corp 6857.T soaring 5.1%.
The broader Topix .TOPX advanced 1.3% to 1,440.25, with
all but five of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange
trading higher.
Highly cyclical iron and steel .ISTEL.T , transport
equipment .ITEQP.T and sea transport .ISHIP.T were the top
three performing indexes on the main bourse.
Nippon Steel Corp 5401.T gained 4.6% and JFE Steel's
parent JFE Holdings Inc 5411.T climbed 5.6%.
Honda Motor Co Ltd 7267.T surged 7.1%, while Nissan Motor
Co Ltd 7201.T and Mazda Motor Corp 7261.T added 3.4% and
4.6%, respectively.
The market largely shrugged off a larger-than-expected fall
of 6.8% year-on-year in China's gross domestic product (GDP)
data for the January-March quarter.