News On Japan

Nikkei ends above 23,000 for first time in 13 months following Wall Street surge

Nov 05, 2019 (Japan Times) - Tokyo stocks staged a sharp rebound on Tuesday, allowing the benchmark Nikkei average to finish above 23,000 for the first time in nearly 13 months.

The 225-issue Nikkei average closed up 401.22 points, or 1.76 percent, at 23,251.99. The Nikkei last closed above the psychologically important threshold on Oct. 10 last year. On Friday, the key market gauge fell 76.27 points. The Tokyo market was closed on Monday for a national holiday.

The Topix index of all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 27.66 points, or 1.66 percent, to end at 1,694.16, after a 0.51-point drop the previous trading day.

The market shot up immediately after the opening bell as investors rushed to make purchases in view of a continued Wall Street rally to send the Dow Jones industrial average to a fresh all-time high on Monday.

Sentiment was brightened by growing optimism that the United States and China are on track to sign the so-called phase one trade deal, brokers said.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Friday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would sign the deal in Iowa, while U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in an interview on Sunday that licenses for U.S. companies to sell components to Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co. would come shortly.

The market extended gains in the afternoon supported by the yen’s weakening against the dollar and bullish performance of Shanghai stocks, brokers said.

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Japan’s World Cup campaign ended in the cruelest possible fashion on June 29, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over the Samurai Blue in their knockout match in Houston. Japan had led in the first half and were still level at 1-1 in the final moments, but Martinelli’s late strike sent Brazil into the Round of 16 and eliminated Japan from the tournament.

Strong earthquakes have continued to shake parts of Japan in recent weeks, with 11 temblors measuring lower 5 or above on the Japanese seismic intensity scale recorded across the country since April 2026.

A Kintetsu Railway train derailed inside Kyoto Station on the morning of June 29, forcing partial suspensions on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line for the rest of the day and causing long delays that hit commuters, students and tourists.

A section of stone wall at Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s few surviving original Edo-period castles and a National Treasure whose main keep remains intact more than 400 years after its construction, collapsed after heavy rain caused by Typhoons No. 7 and No. 8, Hikone city officials said.

Japan advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on June 25, finishing second in Group F and setting up a Round of 32 clash with Brazil in Houston.

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