Nikkei recoups losses, ends higher

Japan’s Nikkei index closed higher on Wednesday and recovered from its lowest level in a month as investors snapped up company shares to ensure shares of their dividends.

According to Reuters, the Nikkei rose 0.18% to 32,371.90 points after falling to 31,960.32 points, the lowest level since August 28.

The broader Topix index rose 0.32% to 2,379.53 points.

Investors needed to buy shares by the end of the session on Wednesday in order to have the right to receive distributions from company profits, which consider September to be the end of the first half of the fiscal year.

Advantest, a manufacturer of chip testing equipment, recovered early losses to end the session with a rise of 1.74%, which provided the greatest support to the Nikkei.

Shares of Daiichi Sankyo and Chugai Pharmaceutical Industries rose 3.52% and 4.07%, respectively. The pharmaceutical sector rose 1.72% to become the best performing sub-sector on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

But the shares of Fast Retailing, which owns the Uniqlo brand, fell 1.52%, which put the greatest pressure on the Nikkei index.