By Tomo Uetake
TOKYO, July 19 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rebounded solidly
on Friday from the previous day's tumble, as riskier assets got
a lift after a senior Federal Reserve official bolstered
expectation of a U.S. rate cut later this month, with the
semiconductor sector leading the gains.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .n225 rallied 2.0% to
21,466.99, following a 2.0% slump on Thursday. The rebound took
the index above a few major technical support levels, including
25- and 50-day moving averages.
For the week, the Nikkei posted a 1.0% loss, its biggest
weekly drop since late May.
"It's not surprising to see this kind of technical rebound
after yesterday's selloff. But many investors opted to wait for
more and clearer evidence from the upcoming flurry of corporate
earnings announcements," said Yasuo Sakuma, chief investment
officer at Libra Investments.
Indeed, turnover on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board
was subdued at 1.93 trillion yen ($17.9 billion) versus the
daily average of 2.35 trillion yen over the past year. Japan's
April-June quarter corporate earnings season will get underway
mid-next week.
Wall Street shares moved higher overnight as comments from
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams helped cement
expectations for an interest rate cut at the end of this month.
Taking their cues from positive revenue outlook of Taiwanese
chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC)
2330.TW , Japan's chip sector rallied with Advantest Corp
6857.T up 7.1%, Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T 3.5% and Disco
Corp 6146.T 4.2%.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker and supplier to
Apple Inc AAPL.O , on Thursday posted a decline in
second-quarter profit but said demand is likely to recover over
the rest of the year, particularly from smartphone makers.
Bucking the overall trend, Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd
6178.T shed 0.8% to an all-time low after the Nikkei business
daily reported the country's largest private insurance firm
Nippon Life requested Japan Post to halt selling its policies at
its affiliate post offices.
The formerly state-owned Japan Post and its affiliate
companies have faced scrutiny in recent weeks over their sales
of insurance policies and toshin fund products. Elsewhere, Akebono Brake Industry Co Ltd 7238.T extended
its stellar gains, climbing 20.0%, one day after the troubled
car parts maker said it will receive about $185 million from a
corporate turnaround fund to help restructure its money-losing
business. The broader Topix .TOPX advanced 1.9% to 1.563.96.
($1 = 107.6000 yen)