Japan’s Nikkei share average rose Thursday as investors bought beaten-down gaming and pharmaceutical stocks, while softer crude oil prices and the US Federal Reserve’s widely expected policy decision supported sentiment, Reuters reported.
The Nikkei was up 0.2% at 0157 GMT after gaining as much as 1% earlier in the session. The broader Topix index advanced 0.6%.
Brent crude futures fell 2.6% overnight after reports that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude cargoes through Oman eased concerns over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East.
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The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, as widely expected, while signalling the possibility of another increase this year.
Reuters reported that the easing of some market uncertainties helped support Japanese equities, although the broader market remained relatively subdued. Investors were also keeping an eye on the Bank of Japan’s policy decision due on Friday, with the central bank widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points.
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Interest-rate-sensitive technology stocks remained under pressure ahead of the BOJ decision, while concerns over a potential slowdown in artificial intelligence development continued to weigh on some shares, according to Reuters.
Chip-sector heavyweights Advantest and Tokyo Electron were among the biggest drags on the Nikkei, falling 1.9% and 2.2%, respectively.
Some AI-related stocks bucked the broader weakness. SoftBank Group gained 1%, while cable maker Fujikura rose 0.6%.
Investors also rotated into gaming and pharmaceutical stocks, which have underperformed the broader market. Nintendo climbed 3.8%, while Konami Group gained 3.7%.
Sumitomo Pharma jumped 4.5%. Oil-related stocks, meanwhile, tracked the decline in crude prices, with Inpex falling 3.3%.
