The Tokyo equities markets were up strongly on Friday after Thursday’s gains on Wall Street in the wake of another hike in US interest rates by the Federal Reserve. The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each added 2.5 percent on the day to 15,505.18 and 1,586.96 respectively. Export-focused stocks were helped by expectations of higher demand in the United States, while domestic stocks also saw advances.
In the electronics sector, Advantest and Tokyo Electron each added 2.8 percent, to ¥11,660 and ¥8,000 respectively..
Construction machinery maker Komatsu gained 3.4 percent to ¥2,340. Industrial robot maker Fanuc was up 3.2 percent to ¥10,280.
Automobile manufacturers also saw gains. Toyota advanced by 4.2 percent to ¥5,990, while Nissan added 5 percent to ¥1,250 after declines earlier in the week. Mazda also gained 5 percent, to ¥717.
The banking and real estate sectors were also up on Friday. Chiba Bank gained 4.5 percent to ¥1,070, while Bank of Yokohama was up 6.6 percent to ¥885 and Mitsui Trust added ¥1,375.
In real estate, Mitsui Fudosan advanced by 4 percent to ¥2,485, Tokyo Tatemono added 4.1 percent to ¥1,226, and Daiwa House gained 5.8 percent to ¥1,830.
Among the losers on the day was department store chain Takashimaya, which was down 0.6 percent to ¥1,436 after it said its first quarter earnings had been lower than had been expected.