The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8% to around 38,750, while the broader Topix index gained 0.6% to 2,706 on Thursday, recovering some losses from earlier in the week and tracking a strong performance on Wall Street. U.S. stocks surged overnight, boosted by a surprise drop in core inflation and solid bank earnings.

However, investors remained cautious about Japanese equities after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated on Wednesday that the central bank would discuss the possibility of raising interest rates at its next policy meeting next week. Meanwhile, data showed that Japanese producer prices rose 3.8% year-on-year in December, matching the pace from November. Strong performances were seen by major index constituents, including IHI Corp (+1.9%), Advantest (+2.5%), and Mitsubishi UFJ (+1.7%). (AL)

Source: Trading Economics