Nikkei ends at two-week high on US tariff relief
TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei ended trade on Thursday at the highest point in more than two weeks after a US court blocked President Donald Trump's tariffs from going into effect, while a weaker yen and a rally in chip-related stocks also supported the benchmark index.
The Nikkei climbed 1.88% to 38,432.98, its highest close since May 13.
The broader Topix rose 1.53% to 2,812.02.
The Manhattan-based Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy.
'The news was positive as Trump's tariff plans are a headwind for the corporate and economic outlook,' said Kentaro Hayashi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
'And the yen weakened on the news, which drove a rally in the auto sector,' he said.
The US dollar surged following the court decision, pushing the yen to fall as low as 146.26 against the greenback. A weaker yen boosts the value of overseas revenues.
Chip-related shares jumped after Nvidia beat quarterly sales expectations, with Advantest and Tokyo Electron rising 5.35% and 4.25%, respectively.
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