Japan stocks hit highest in more than 3 months on economic hopes

By Stanley White
TOKYO, June 2 (Reuters) - Japanese shares hit a more than
three-month high on Tuesday as hopes for a global economic
recovery bolstered expectations for a rebound in corporate
earnings, with more countries gradually reopening after
coronavirus-related lockdowns.
The Nikkei index .N225 ended 1.19% higher at 22,325.61
points after earlier rising to its highest level since Feb. 26.
Industrial and technology shares led the advance.
Japanese stocks also got a boost from overnight Wall Street
gains, after U.S. manufacturing data suggested the worst of the
sector's virus-related slump may be over.
The Nikkei has rallied around 36% from its low of March 16
as coronavirus infections in Japan fell, prompting the officials
to remove lockdown restrictions and allow more retailers to
resume operations.
However, some investors remain cautious due to uncertainty
caused by mass protests in the United States against police
brutality and diplomatic tension between Washington and Beijing
over civil liberties in Hong Kong.
"Hopes for economic recovery are supporting gains in
Japanese stocks," Hideyuki Ishiguro, senior strategist at Daiwa
Securities in Tokyo.
"In the bigger picture, equity markets have stopped reacting
to negative news. Many investors were short in futures and now
they are losing money. These players are being forced to buy
back."
There were 196 advancers on the Nikkei index against 27
decliners on Tuesday.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were printer and
medical imaging company Konica Minolta Inc 4902.T , up 6.11%,
followed by beer maker Asahi Group Holdings Ltd 2502.T ,
gaining 5.52%, and industrial machinery maker IHI Corp 7013.T ,
up by 5.47%.
The largest percentage losses in the index were drugmaker
Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 4568.T ,down 4.38%, followed by Astellas
Pharma Inc 4503.T ,losing 1.88%, and Kansai Electric Power Co
Inc 9503.T , down by 1.27%.
The broader TOPIX index .TOPX rose 1.21% to 1,587.68.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 1.16 billion, compared to the average of
1.38 billion in the past 30 days.