Japan’s Nikkei hits 6-week peak

Japanese stocks extended gains on Tuesday, albeit with modest performance, as investors refrained from any big moves ahead of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting, despite diminishing expectations for a large interest rate cut in the US central bank.

The Nikkei index started its trading, up 0.8 percent, to break the moral barrier at 27 thousand points, before ending the session at 26,961.68 points, up 0.65 percent.

The broader Topix index rose 0.54 percent.

Japanese heavy industry stocks were among the best performers, buoyed by a report at the weekend that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government will not set a ceiling on defence spending in next year’s budget.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries rose 5.22 percent, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rose 2.5 percent.

Although Apple shares incurred losses in the evening after a Bloomberg report stated that the company intends to cut hiring next year, Japanese supplier companies did not appear to be affected significantly.

Sony, the main supplier of image sensors to Apple, rose 2.32 percent, while electronic component maker Murata rose 0.24 percent.

The Nikkei utility sector index fell 1.36 percent.

Kansai Electric Power fell 2.78 percent.

Video game maker Nintendo Inc fell 2.50 percent, losing its record Friday when the stock jumped 2.33 percent after news of the company’s purchase of an animation studio.