Nikkei Rebounds Slightly After A Sharp Rise in Japanese Exports

The Tokyo stock market rebounded slightly on Thursday after the recent losses. The mood was bolstered by stronger than expected growth in Japanese exports.

Investors also processed the minutes of the last US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate meeting, which showed that central bankers are cautiously optimistic about the economic recovery and are little concerned about rising inflation. According to policymakers, it may therefore be appropriate to discuss the extensive bond buy-back program’s winding down in the coming meetings.

The Nikkei in Tokyo ended 0.2 percent higher at 28,098.25 points. Japan’s exports increased 38 percent in April from the same month a year ago. That was the most substantial growth since 2010. The revival was driven by the recovery of the economies in the United States and China, Japan’s main trading partners.

Especially the export of chip equipment to China increased. Therefore, the Japanese chip companies Tokyo Electron and Advantest were among the strongest risers in the Nikkei with profits of more than 2 and more than 3 percent. Steel companies Nippon Steel and JFE Holdings were the biggest losers with losses of around 5 percent.

The main index in Shanghai was 0.2 percent in the negative after the decision of the Chinese central bank to keep key interest rates unchanged for the thirteenth month in a row. The decision was in line with market expectations. In Hong Kong and South Korea, where investors returned after a day off, the indicators lost 0.6 and 0.4 percent, respectively. The All Ordinaries in Sydney rose 1.3 percent on the back of a more substantial than expected fall in unemployment in Australia in April.