TOKYO, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Japanese shares inched up on Friday
with investors clinging to hopes for more U.S. fiscal stimulus
as the Tokyo Stock Exchange resumed trading after a full-day of
system outage the previous day.
Nikkei share average .N225 edged up 0.15% by midday to
23,219.62. The broader Topix .TOPX ended the morning session
0.03% lower at 1,624.96, giving up earlier gains.
The small gains in Nikkei followed Wall Street's extended
rally as investors pinned their hopes on the progress over
stimulus talks in Washington as economic recovery from the
pandemic-induced recession appears to lose momentum. .N
The market took the impact of Thursday's outage in its
stride, with traders relieved that the system was recovered
after an unprecedented one-day shutdown due to technical
troubles. "Today's market is driven more by gains in U.S. shares than
by the system troubles at the TSE. The glitch is not affecting
the market overall," said Maki Sawada, equity strategist at
Nomura Securities.
By late morning trade, the market's turnover had reached
1.20 trillion yen ($11.37 billion), a little higher than usual.
Shares of Japan Exchange Group 8697.T , the parent company
of Tokyo Stock Exchange, fell 1.6% while Fujitsu 6702.T ,
developer of the exchange's system, lost 2.2%.
Department store operators, one of the worst-hit segments
this year, extended their strong recovery after a leading firm,
J.Front Retailing 3086.T , upgraded its earnings forecast
earlier this week.
Isetan Mitsukoshi 3099.T gained 7.7% while Takashimaya
8233.T rose 6.9% and J.Front Retailing added 7.1% to log a
weekly gain of almost 22%.
Nishimatsuya 7545.T , operator of infant goods stores, rose
6.8% to a 4-year high, after it too raised its earnings
forecast.
Other cyclical value shares, including carmakers, were also
in demand. Nissan Motor 7201.T rose 2.4% while Honda Motor
7267.T gained 2.1%.
In contrast, investors rotated out of this year's winners
such as drugmakers.
Daiichi Sankyo 4568.T lost 3.5% while Shionogi 4507.T
fell 3.3%.
($1 = 105.58 yen)