SINGAPORE, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rose on
Thursday, rallying after eight sessions of intra-day weakness in
trades marking the final settlements for 2019 and driven by
expectations of a Sino-U.S. trade deal early in the new year.
The Nikkei index .N225 was up 0.42% at 0147 GMT, to
23,883.43 points, taking its gains for the year so far to
18.83%. The broader Topix index .TOPX was up 0.36%.
The rally was broad-based with investors counting on an end
to the prolonged trade war to prop up a market that has been
disproportionately hurt by flagging global demand, but led by
the industrials and consumer discretionary sectors.
Under Japan's T+2 settlement system, trades done on Thursday
would be settled on Monday, the final trading day for the year.
"There were no major factors behind the rise and it was a
natural rebound after a fall," said Hiroyasu Mori of the
investment strategy department at Okachi Securities.
"Market players appear to be betting shares will rise after
tomorrow, which is effectively the start of new year trade."
Volumes were however lower than usual. The volume of shares
traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board .TOPX was 0.33
billion, compared to the average of 1.17 billion in the past 30
days.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd 6981.T up 1.57%,
followed by SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T .
There were 188 advancers on the Nikkei index against 32
decliners.
The Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firm shares was also
up, gaining 0.79%.