Tokyo shares close higher ahead of Fed decision

Tokyo shares shrugged off US falls and closed higher on Tuesday as investors eyed earnings reports by major Japanese firms and an upcoming Federal Reserve policy decision, AFP.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.33 percent, or 91.46 points, to end at 27,678.92, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.47 percent, or 9.07 points, to 1,938.50.
A wait-and-see attitude may grow ahead of the US central bank decision on Wednesday, analysts said.
“Investors are wisely pausing for thought ahead of what is expected to be another jumbo Fed rate hike while attempting to plot a Fed rate hike path well into 2023,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
“With the 10-year yield back above four percent and little fuel for the ‘Fed pivot’ narrative overnight, the market seems to be positioning for an FOMC hawk if not erring a touch risk off.”
The dollar fetched 148.21 yen, against 148.72 yen in New York on Monday, after Japan’s finance ministry said it spent $43 billion in October to bolster the yen’s value.
The Tokyo market was supported by heavyweight SoftBank Group, which jumped 2.71 percent to 6,574 yen.
Sony Group rose 0.62 percent to 10,050 yen. After the closing bell, the conglomerate raised its annual net profit and sales forecasts, saying the weak yen had boosted its bottom line in several sectors.
Toyota tanked 1.94 percent to 2,019.5 yen after announcing that half-year net profit dropped 23 percent. However, the top-selling automaker kept its annual net profit forecast unchanged as the cheaper yen offsets supply-chain disruptions.
Its rival Honda firmed 0.80 percent to 3,400 yen while Nissan inched up 0.06 percent to 474.7 yen.
Japan Airlines added 1.04 percent to 2,804 yen. After market close the firm posted a net loss of 2.1 billion yen for April-September, but said it expects full-year net profit to March 2023 of 45 billion yen.