Tokyo stocks close higher tracking US rallies

Tokyo stocks ended higher Thursday, catching up with gains on Wall Street after minutes from the US Federal Reserve signalled it could slow its rate hikes.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.95 percent, or 267.35 points, to 28,383.09, while the broader Topix index rose 1.21 percent, or 24.05 points, to 2,018.80.

The Tokyo market was closed for a public holiday Wednesday, leading investors to play catch-up with a rally on Wall Street over the past two sessions.

Global investors had perked up after Fed minutes from its November gathering showed policymakers were readying to curb the speed of their interest rate hikes, having lifted them a bumper 75 basis points at each of the past four meetings.

"Investors have welcomed a perceived reduction in uncertainty around the Fed's terminal rate," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management. "Positive global risk sentiment could easily persist" in the final weeks of 2022, especially if US inflation calms down, he added.

The dollar stood at 138.93 yen, compared with 139.52 yen seen Wednesday in New York.

Semiconductor-related shares were buoyant. Advantest, which makes testing kits for microchips, jumped 4.56 percent to 9,400 yen and Tokyo Electron, which makes tools to build semiconductors, rose 3.55 percent to 46,380 yen.

Shipping firms were higher, because they "reflect the global economic cycle... and the prospect of slower rate hikes eased concerns over an economic slowdown", said Atsuko Ishitoya, a strategist at Daiwa Securities. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines jumped 4.00 percent to 3,250 yen and Kawasaki Kisen soared 4.17 percent to 2,646 yen.

Tokyo-based internet firm Cyberagent, whose streaming service provides free World Cup coverage, surged 6.94 percent to 1,294 yen after Japan beat Germany 2-1 in their opening match. Drugmaker Shionogi edged up 0.26 percent to 7,190 yen after the company said Japan's health ministry had given emergency approval for its Covid-19 drug.

Toshiba declined 1.98 percent to 4,762 yen after a report said a consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners Inc was considering lowering its offer to buy the conglomerate.

Chinese internet giant Baidu reported on Tuesday third-quarter revenues of 32.5 billion yuan ($4.6 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 2 percent.

Its earnings report showed Baidu posted a net loss of 146 million yuan for the three months through September as it reined in costs and trimmed back far deeper losses from the equivalent quarter last year.

Chinese technology majors have struggled in recent months amid an economic slowdown, Covid-19 curbs, and tighter regulatory scrutiny.

Earnings reports from internet titans, including Alibaba and JD.com, have presented a mixed picture in recent weeks. "Baidu Core delivered a solid set of financial and operational results in the third quarter, despite the continued challenges posed by the Covid-19 resurgence," said CEO Robin Li.

The core business "resumed positive growth, driven by a gradual recovery of our online marketing business and the steady growth of our AI Cloud revenue", Li said, hailing "significant progress in intelligent driving".

"Looking ahead, we expect our mobile ecosystem to continue generating strong cash flow and fund our investment in AI Cloud and intelligent driving, which will help ... drive long-term business growth," he said.

Beijing-based Baidu reported a third-quarter loss of 16.6 billion yuan last year, despite revenues rising 63 percent year-on-year to 31.9 billion yuan at the time.

The company, which operates China's biggest online search engine, has diversified in recent years into artificial intelligence, cloud computing and autonomous driving technologies as advertising revenue has remained sluggish.

Japanese inflation hit a fourdecade high last month, government data showed Friday, fuelled by high energy costs and a weak yen and ramping up pressure on the central bank to move away from its ultraloose monetary policies.

Core consumer prices excluding volatile fresh food rose 3.6 percent on-year in October, marginally higher than analyst expectations.