Japan’s Nikkei track Wall Street higher; tech stocks lead gains

TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) – Japanese shares rose on Friday as technology stocks tracked overnight gains on Wall Street, with sentiment aided by loose monetary policy in the country.

By 0210 GMT, the Nikkei share average was up 0.8% at 26,372.16. It is on course to post a 1.6% rise for the week, and down 3.28% for the month so far.

The broader Topix rose 0.35% to 1,858.16 — on track for a 1.23% weekly gain.

Overnight, Wall Street’s main indexes posted solid gains, fuelled by strong performance from defensive and tech shares that outweighed declines for economically sensitive groups as worries persisted about a potential recession.

“Recent losses in domestic equities were driven by concerns about economic slowdown due to the Federal Reserve’s tightening monetary policy but Japan’s environment is different,” said Shigetoshi Kamada, a general manager with Tachibana Securities’ research department at .

“Japan’s stock market is in a favourable position. But whether this situation will continue in the long term is questionable and it will depend on the direction of U.S. interest rates.”

The Bank of Japan last week maintained ultra-low rates, going against overseas central banks’ policy tightening, which is spurring worries about recession.

In Japan, chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 3,76% and provided the biggest boost to the Nikkei. Air-conditioning maker Daikin Industries climbed 2.79%. Medical services platform M3 jumped 6.91%.

Drug maker Shionogi & Co rose 4.51% after announcing a share buyback.

Automakers were weak, with Mitsubishi Motors tanking 6.97% to become the worst performer on the Nikkei, and Subaru lost 4.04%.

Toyota Motor lost 1.36% and weighed on the Topix the most. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; editing by Uttaresh.V)

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