Japan’s Nikkei closes higher amid buying in lower stocks

Japanese shares closed higher on Friday, recovering from a nearly 2 percent drop in the previous session, as investors snapped up falling stocks on hopes of corporate earnings growth.

The Nikkei index ended trading up 1.27 percent at 2,6739.03, and recorded a weekly gain of 1.18 percent. The broader Topix index rose 0.93 percent to 1877.37, and it rose 0.71 percent during the week.

The gains came despite Wall Street’s decline overnight, weighed down by concerns about the broad impact of inflation and a slump in Cisco Systems shares after the network equipment maker cut its revenue growth forecast in 2022.

“Japanese stocks were strong on (Friday) even as Dow Jones and Standard & Poor’s continued their losses,” said Shigetoshi Kamada, director of research at Tachibana Securities.

Shares of Fast Retailing, owner of supermarket chain Uniqlo, rose 2.53 percent and provided the biggest boost to the Nikkei index. SoftBank Group rose 3.5 percent, while Tokyo Electron, a producer of chip-making equipment, added 1.27 percent.

Seiko Epson rose 8.78 percent and was the biggest gainer on the Nikkei index, after the watchmaker announced a buyback of up to 9.35 percent of its shares.

Tokyo Gas fell 2.75 percent, the biggest loser on the index.