Nikkei hits seven-year high as stocks extend win streak

By Laura He, MarketWatch

Reuters

Japan stocks gained further Thursday, while other major Asian indexes mostly declined.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Japan stocks extended a three-day winning streak Thursday, with the Nikkei hitting the highest point in more than seven years.

The Nikkei Average /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK +1.27%  climbed 1.1% to close at 17,392.79, as investors looked ahead to Monday’s release of economic growth statistics, which were expected to be used by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for deciding whether to postpone a sales-tax increase planned for October next year.

Meanwhile, the broader Topix index /zigman2/quotes/210598092/delayed JP:180460 +0.93%  advanced 0.9%.

The yen /zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled USDJPY +0.0383% slipped against the greenback, with the dollar buying ¥115.58 compared with ¥115.47 a day earlier.

On the same day, official data showed that Japanese core machinery orders rose 2.9% in September from the previous month, marking a fourth straight month of gains.

Market movers included retailer AEON Co. Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/208701491/delayed JP:8267 -1.04% , rallying 3%, its local rivals J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/209287176/delayed JP:3086 +0.71% and Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. /zigman2/quotes/200663563/delayed JP:9983 +2.53% , both advancing 1.9%. Internet and telecoms conglomerate SoftBank Corp. /zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed JP:9984 +3.50% jumped 2.9%, electronic component maker TDK Corporation /zigman2/quotes/208948266/delayed JP:6762 +2.34%  climbed 2.2%, camera maker Nikon Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203281219/delayed JP:7731 +1.83%  rose 1.6%, and auto maker Toyota Motor Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203803129/delayed JP:7203 +2.14%  improved by 1.3%.

In other Asian markets, Hong Kong stocks rose for a fourth straight session, with the Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI +2.96%  notching a mild 0.3% gain.

Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP +1.60%  declined 0.4%.

In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO +1.15%  also settled 0.4% lower, while Seoul’s Kospi Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 +1.81%  gave up 0.3%.

/zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:NIK

NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

26,739.03

+336.19 +1.27%

Volume: 0.00

May 20, 2022 3:15p

/zigman2/quotes/210598092/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:I0000

TOPIX Index

JP : Tokyo Exchange (TOPIX)

1,877.37

+17.29 +0.93%

Volume: 0.00

May 20, 2022 3:00p

/zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled

Add to watchlist USDJPY

Japanese Yen

US : Tullett Prebon

127.9350

+0.0490 +0.0383%

Volume: 0.0000

May 20, 2022 4:59p

/zigman2/quotes/208701491/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:8267

Aeon Co. Ltd.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 2,284.00

-24.00 -1.04%

Volume: 2.18M

May 20, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

298.72

Dividend Yield

1.58%

Market Cap

¥1933.14 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥56.02M

/zigman2/quotes/209287176/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:3086

J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 995.00

+7.00 +0.71%

Volume: 1.07M

May 20, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

60.33

Dividend Yield

3.12%

Market Cap

¥260.56 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥50.78M

/zigman2/quotes/200663563/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:9983

Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 59,630.00

+1,470 +2.53%

Volume: 513,500

May 20, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

28.94

Dividend Yield

0.94%

Market Cap

¥6091.81 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥38.66M

/zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:9984

SoftBank Group Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 5,232.00

+177.00 +3.50%

Volume: 18.74M

May 20, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

¥8965.64 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥105.83M

/zigman2/quotes/208948266/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6762

TDK Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 4,370.00

+100.00 +2.34%

Volume: 2.23M

May 20, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

13.43

Dividend Yield

2.43%

Market Cap

¥1656.21 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/203281219/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:7731

Nikon Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 1,502.00

+27.00 +1.83%

Volume: 2.72M

May 20, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

19.84

Dividend Yield

2.66%

Market Cap

¥551.53 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥27.32M

/zigman2/quotes/203803129/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:7203

Toyota Motor Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 2,048.00

+43.00 +2.14%

Volume: 23.68M

May 20, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

9.98

Dividend Yield

2.73%

Market Cap

¥28366.39 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥85.67M

/zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:HSI

Hang Seng Index

HK : Hong Kong Exchange

20,717.24

+596.56 +2.96%

Volume: 2.17M

May 20, 2022 4:08p

/zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed

Add to watchlist CN:SHCOMP

Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

3,146.57

+49.60 +1.60%

Volume: 37.23B

May 20, 2022 3:00p

/zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed

Add to watchlist AU:XJO

S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index

AU : S&P ASX

7,145.60

+81.10 +1.15%

Volume: 698,129

May 20, 2022 5:07p

/zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed

Add to watchlist KR:SEU

KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,639.29

+46.95 +1.81%

Volume: 755,652

May 20, 2022 3:30p