Japan Shares Close Higher, All Eyes on The Presidential Debate

Japanese stocks closed at a seven-month high on Tuesday, September 29, tracking the impact of US stocks, which rose last night due to investors buying shares that plunged sharply with a sharp decline in the stock market last week, while all eyes turned to the presidential debate between Trump and Biden.

The Nikkei index erased early losses and closed 0.12% higher at 23,539.10, the highest level since February 20. But the broader TOPIX index fell 0.23% to 1,658.10 points.

Japanese shares opened lower after the big telecom company NTT said it was considering bidding to fully own the NTT DoCoMo mobile phone unit, and the bid could reach around 4 trillion yen, equivalent to $ 38 billion.

The potential deal pushed the shares of NTT and rival mobile companies to fall, but investors began buying shares of other companies in the telecommunications sector, which helped reverse the direction of the market in general.

NTT DoCoMo rose 15.78, the recommended daily limit, to be the largest winner on the TOPIX index, followed by Keyence Corp, which increased 3.68%, and NTT shares fell 2.58% due to concerns about the cost of the acquisition.

The shares of rival mobile companies fell, and KDDI and Softbank Corp. lost 4.14% each, as the purchase offer may increase pressure to reduce mobile phone fees.