Japan’s Nikkei closes higher as Wall Street gains

Japanese indices rose at the end of Friday’s trading session, supported by positive business results and Wall Street gains.

At the end of today’s session, the Nikkei index rose by about 0.4% to 38,229 points. The broader Topix index also rose by 0.54% to 2,728 points.

The Nikkei witnessed volatile trading over the past week after recording a 3-week high of 38,863 on Tuesday.

Thus, the Nikkei index recorded no significant change in weekly performance after achieving weekly gains for two consecutive weeks.

Investor sentiment improved this week after renewed bets on an interest rate cut in America following the release of lower-than-expected job growth data for April.

Gaming company stocks achieved strong gains, with Konami Group shares rising 9.3%, topping the gains, while Bandai Namco Holdings shares rose 5.6% and Nintendo 3.3%.

Shares of Screen Holdings, which is linked to the chip industry, fell 12.2%. Panasonic shares fell 4.7% after the company’s energy unit was unable to achieve an expected operating profit.