Japan’s Nikkei posts 3-week closing high on Wall Street strength, dovish BOJ

Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Tuesday to a three-week closing high as markets resumed trade after a long holiday weekend, with Wall Street’s overnight gains and the Bank of Japan’s dovish comments last week lifting investor sentiment.

The Nikkei ended 0.57% higher at 37,940.59, its highest close since Sept. 3. The index rose as much as 1.9% to 38,427.15 earlier in the session, crossing the 38,000 level for the first time since Sept. 4.

Japanese markets were closed on Monday for a holiday.

U.S. stocks closed modestly higher on Monday as investors assessed whether a trend would develop in the week following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut.

The BOJ kept interest rates steady on Friday and its governor said the central bank could afford to spend time eyeing the fallout from global economic uncertainties, signalling it was in no rush to raise borrowing costs further.

“Expectations that the U.S. economy will make a soft landing have risen after the Fed’s 50 basis-point rate cut,” said Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute. “And, BOJ Governor (Kazuo) Ueda sounded more dovish on Friday than his remarks after the previous policy meeting, which was positive for the stock market.” Ueda reiterated his stance on Tuesday that the central bank was in no rush to raise interest rates further.

Electronic component maker TDK jumped 4.21% and was the biggest boost for the Nikkei.

Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron erased early gains to fall 0.93%, weighing on the Nikkei the most.

The broader Topix rose 0.54% to 2,656.73, with conglomerate Hitachi jumping 5% to become the biggest boost.

Shingo Ide, chief equity strategist at NLI Research Institute, said the market rose because investors bought back stocks to cover short positions made before the Fed’s rate-cut decision last week.