Tokyo stocks rise on strong technology shares
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 415.12 points, or 1.02 percent, from Wednesday at 41,069.82. The broader Topix index finished 22.89 points, or 0.78 percent, higher at 2,943.07.
On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by nonferrous metal, insurance and glass and ceramics product issues.
The U.S. dollar temporarily weakened to the upper 148 yen range in Tokyo after the Bank of Japan raised its inflation projection to 2.7 percent for the current fiscal year from April from its earlier forecast of 2.2 percent, while maintaining its policy rate due to economic uncertainty over U.S. tariffs.
"The upward revision was greater than expected, and some surprised market participants moved to buy the yen" on speculation of an early rate hike by the Bank of Japan, said Takuya Kanda, senior researcher at the Gaitame.com Research Institute.
However, they soon realized the central bank is in no rush to raise the rate, and its stance has not changed much, leading to some yen selling, Kanda added.
The BOJ decision had little impact on the stock market, said Masahiro Yamaguchi, head of investment research at SMBC Trust Bank.
With the BOJ saying that the impact of U.S. trade policies on the economy and prices remains "highly uncertain" despite a Japan-U.S. trade deal, "an early rate hike cannot be expected, which is not a negative for the stock market," Yamaguchi added.
Heavyweight semiconductor and tech issues drew buying as Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. released solid earnings after the U.S. market closed on Wednesday.
Some auto shares, such as Toyota Motor, fell as some investors reacted negatively to the news that the company has halted production lines at 11 domestic plants due to tsunami warnings and advisories nationwide after a massive earthquake hit Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula the previous day, brokers said.
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