Japanese stocks rise after Wall Street rise, affected by Powell’s testimony

Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday after investors accepted shares that had fallen in price before, after the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s less hawkish-than-expected comments supported US stocks.

The Japanese Nikkei index closed up 1.92 percent, recording 28,765.66 points, achieving the highest daily increase since December 21, while the broader Topix index rose 1.64 percent to 2019.36 points.

US stocks rose on Tuesday night and the Nasdaq index led the gains after investors digested Powell’s comments that interest rates are likely to rise this year as expected.

US consumer price inflation data is expected later on Wednesday and the consumer price index is expected to record a high level of 7 percent on an annual basis, which supports the prospects for a rate hike soon.

The leading shares on the Nikkei index led the gains, with Tokyo Electron adding 3.75 percent and SoftBank Group jumping 6.03 percent.

Shares that had previously fallen as US bond yields fell, and Keynes’ shares jumped 4.98 percent after losing 11 percent last week. Engine maker Nidec shares rose 2.63 percent after losing 7 percent during the same period.