By Hideyuki Sano and Tomo UetakeTOKYO:A recovery in Japanese shares ran out of steam on Tuesday as the Nikkei average faced stiff resistance at its 25-day average, but sentiment was underpinned by stellar US jobs data last week and a weakening yen.The Nikkei share average closed 0.3 percent higher at 22,539.54 points, after failing to sustain gains above its 25-day average of 22,562.
The benchmark has bounced since it hit a six-week low of 21,932 a week ago.The broader Topix was little changed at 1,774.96, with the JPX-Nikkei 400 edging up 0.1 percent to 15,696.35."It is clear that the economic fundamentals are pretty strong.
Although we have trade issues, on the whole we can expect earning growth of more than 10 per cent this financial year," said Tsuyoshi Shimizu, a head of research at Asset Management One.Strong US jobs data published on Friday underscored investors' bullish view on the global economy despite growing concerns about trade frictions between the United States and the rest of the world.The dollar/yen rose to as high as 110.01 yen during the afternoon trade, providing a tailwind for exporters-dominant, Japanese market.Tech shares outperformed after the US Nasdaq index hit a record high for the first time in three months on Monday.Softbank jumped 2.2 per cent, while Tokyo Electron and Advantest added 1.3 per cent each.Yet optimism did not spill over much to other sectors, with decliners outnumbering gainers by 1133-853 on the main board of Topix.Amid continued sluggishness in oil prices, oil-related shares were notable underperformers, with mining shares falling 2.7 per cent and oil and coal products down 2.0 per cent.Japan Communications Inc rose 7.3 per cent in heavy trade as retail investors rushed to buy after Japan's financial watchdog said it would support a fintech experiment project by a consortium including the company.
The stock was the third most actively traded on the main board.Its price has more than doubled following the announcement by the Financial Services Agency last Thursday, though analysts said the moves appeared to highly speculative.Sharp plunged 4.1 per cent after the Japanese electronics unit of Taiwan's Foxconn said it will issue new shares worth about 200 billion yen ($1.82 billion).Kobe Steel fell 1.1 per cent after prosecutors and police searched the headquarters of the company over its data fabrication scandal.Japan's start-up markets fared worse, with the Mothers index shedding 1.9 per cent to a near seven-month closing low of ,110.66 and the Nikkei Jasdaq index down 0.6 per cent to a one-week low of 3,914.44.