Domestics take Tokyo markets higher

The Tokyo equities markets recovered on Tuesday, as the Nikkei 225 added 0.33 percent on the day to 16,9790.29 and the Topix index was up 0.52 percent to 1,719.73. The Nikkei had lost 500 points on Monday, its largest one-day decline this year, on worries about a strengthening yen.

The banking sector was up on the day, with Mitsubishi UFJ gaining 1.7 percent to ¥1.83 million, while Mizuho added 0.8 percent to ¥984,000. The gains were attributed to investors who felt that domestic stocks were more likely to benefit from the Japanese economy’s recovery.

After earlier declines, the consumer finance sector was also higher on the day as investors wondered it the government will be willing to go through with new, lower limits on how much interest rates these lenders can charge. Aiful was up 6.17 percent on the day to ¥6,710, while Aicom added 5.7 percent and Promise gained 3.2 percent.

Export-oriented companies generally saw declines on the day. Among carmakers, Honda dropped 1 percent to ¥7,740 and Nissan dropped 2.1 percent to ¥1,443. Copier and camera maker Canon lost 2.9 percent to ¥8,400, while chip testing equipment maker Advantest was down almost 2 percent to ¥13,240. Most of these declines had to do with the strengthening of the yen, which hit a three-month high of ¥114 versus the US dollar.

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