Japan shares end higher on U.S. stimulus hopes, dovish Fed

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Japanese shares closed higher for
a second straight session on Thursday as expectations for
further U.S. economic stimulus and a pledge of support from the
Federal Reserve lifted sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 closed up 0.18% at 26,806.67,
reversing losses from morning trade. The broader Topix .TOPX
rose 0.32% to 1,792.58.
Some traders were slightly cautious as Japan grapples with a
third wave of infections, but positive developments in the
United States offered support. Top Democrats and Republicans sounded hopeful about agreeing
on a $900 billion COVID-19 aid bill, and the Fed vowed to keep
pouring cash into financial markets until its economy is on a
sound footing. Stocks could easily fall on profit-taking after the Nikkei
hit a 29-1/2-year high last week, but analysts have an upbeat
mid-term outlook.
"Excessive amounts of liquidity provided by central banks
have been the backbone of stock markets this year, and this will
continue into next year," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment
strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Top gainers among the top 30 core Topix names were Nintendo
Co Ltd 7974.T , up 6.61 %, followed by Keyence Corp 6861.T ,
up 5.3%.
The underperformers were Daiichi Sankyo Co 4568.T , down
4.40%, followed by Central Japan Railway Co 9022.T , losing
2.23%.
Japan Post Insurance 7181.T rose 10.05% on media reports
that it would buy back $2.9 billion of its own shares from its
parent Japan Post Holdings 6178.T , whose shares rose 3.58%.
Fujifilm Holdings 4901.T fell 3.0% after a media report
said that Japan's government concluded it could not measure the
effectiveness of the company's Avigan drug as a treatment for
COVID-19. There were 56 advancers on the Nikkei index against 166
decliners .
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.98 billion, compared with the average
of 1.35 billion in the past 30 days.