Japan Stocks Closed Higher as Sentiment Improved on Strong Earnings

Japanese shares closed higher on Wednesday, while carrier stocks led the gains, as market sentiment was supported by a rally led by technology companies on Wall Street last night and expectations of strong profits for local companies.

The benchmark Nikkei index rose 1% to 28,646.50 points, while the broader Topix index jumped 1.3% to 1,871.09 points.

US stocks ended the session at a strong rise for the second day in a row, supported by gains for Amazon and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, before announcing the results, and thanks to optimism about progress in a US package to mitigate the repercussions of the Coronavirus.

All of the 33 sub-sector indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose with one exception, while airline and road transport shares hit by the pandemic led the gains.

Japan Airlines (Japan Airlines) jumped 6.56%, while ANA Holdings rose 2.9%.

Central Japan Railway, which operates the high-speed trains linking Tokyo and Osaka, gained 5.47%. Western Japan Railway rose 6.86%, and East Japan Railway jumped 5.48%.

On Tuesday, Japan extended the state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions for another month, as it seeks to continue controlling the outbreak of Covid-19, although the number of daily infections began to decrease.

Mitsubishi Motor Co. rose 11.34%, topping the Nikkei index gainer after the company cut its annual net loss forecast yesterday.

Panasonic shares rose 3.84% after the electronics industry conglomerate said its battery business that supplies its products to Tesla would become profitable in the current fiscal year, and the company raised its forecast for full-year operating profit by more than half.