TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Japanese shares climbed on Thursday, tracking cues from an overnight Wall Street rally after the U.S. Federal Reserve unveiled plans to trim bond purchases, while investors shifted focus to Toyota Motor outlook due later in the day.
The Nikkei share average was up 0.8% at 29,763.92, as of 0156 GMT, while the broader Topix also climbed 0.82% to 2,048.38.
Major indexes in the Wall Street marked closing record highs overnight after the U.S. central bank announced plans to begin tapering its bond purchases, while it said it would not rush to raise interest rates.
“Investors were relieved that a major event was over. The outcome was rather dovish because even as the Fed starts tapering, that is not leading to a rate hike, which means liquidity will be guaranteed,” Ikuo Mitsui, a fund manager at Aizawa Securities said.
“Domestically, investors are eyeing whether Toyota Motor would cut its outlook or not. But even if it did, the reaction might be limited because its downward revision is already factored-in.”
Toyota said last month it would cut its planned global output for November by as much as 15% due to the global chip shortage, but indicated it would ramp up production from next month by sticking to its latest full-year production target.
Toyota Motor, whose shares were up 0.73%, is among the 140 companies that are scheduled to release their annual forecasts later in the day.
Fujifilm Holdings jumped 4.77% after the medical equipment maker raised its annual net profit outlook.
Shares of Nippon Steel rose 0.77% after Japan’s top steelmaker lifted its annual net profit outlook by 41%.
Bucking the trend, Konica Minolta shares tanked 8.93% after the office equipment maker cut its annual profit forecast.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix names were Keyence, up 4.14 %, followed by Tokyo Electron.
The underperformers among the Topix 30 were Kao, falling 3.8%, followed by Mitsui & Co losing 1.17%.
(Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
Source: Reuters