The Japanese Nikkei index rose on Tuesday to close at its highest level in two weeks, supported by gains on Wall Street the previous night. However, anxiety over important U.S. economic data set to be released later this week limited the gains. The Nikkei climbed 0.68% to 32,389.12 points early in the session, marking its highest level since August 15. However, the gains faded by midday, and the index ended trading up 0.18% at 32,226.97 points. The broader Topix index also increased by 0.16%.
All three Wall Street indices rose by 0.6% or more yesterday. However, a week full of data, culminating in the announcement of U.S. job figures on Friday, gained additional significance after Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, hinted at the possibility of another interest rate hike.
Tokyo Electric Power Company recorded the best performance, rising significantly by 5.31%. Shiseido, a cosmetics firm, saw its shares increase by 2.18%, while J. Front and Takashimaya, department store operators, rose by 2.48% and 2.15%, respectively. In contrast, Toyota Motor's shares fell by 0.2%. The stock had previously declined by 0.82% earlier in the session after a technical glitch forced the automaker to halt operations at its domestic factories.
