The stock exchange in Japan closed sharply higher on Tuesday. Investors revived the positive mood on Wall Street. A further weakening of the Japanese yen also led to price gains among Japanese export companies. The news that British Prime Minister Theresa May has received legally binding guarantees from the EU about the arrangement around the Irish border also provided some relief before the vote in the British Parliament.
The Nikkei index in Tokyo ended with a gain of 1.8 percent at 21,503.69 points. Japanese technology companies were in demand after the price gains among American industry peers. The maker of chip equipment Tokyo Electron and chip tester Advantest rose 2.2 and 0.5 percent. Robot maker Fanuc and technology concern Panasonic, who sell many products abroad, benefited from a cheaper yen and increased their yield by 2.3 percent. The Japanese maker of medical equipment Omron, which will be included in the Nikkei 225 on March 18, won 4.4 percent.
The Chinese stock markets continued to rise after the strong recovery the day before. The stock market in Shanghai was 1.3 percent in the plus in the meantime and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 1.1 percent. The Kospi in Seoul gained 1 percent. The All Ordinaries in Sydney remained behind and ended with a small minus of 0.1 percent.
Maurice Esma, a co-founder of EconomicInform is a freelance journalist with the expertise in international finance and corporate rights. The author can be reached by email maurice.eisma@economicinform.com