Tokyo: Tokyo stocks closed higher on Tuesday and the Topix index hit a 10-year high after fears of North Korean threats eased, but Kobe Steel dived after it admitted falsifying quality data for products.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.64 per cent, or 132.80 points, to close at 20,823.51, the sixth consecutive gain.
The broader Topix index rose 0.47 per cent, or 7.98 points, at 1,695.14, the highest since July 2007.
There were fears that Pyongyang might launch another early morning missile on the anniversary of its Workers’ Party foundation, after firing two projectiles and testing a nuclear bomb several weeks ago.
But the Nikkei cast off early losses on relief that North Korea had not yet taken any provocative action.
Investor spirits also picked up with an upbeat view on the US and Japanese economies supporting sentiment.
Analysts meanwhile looked past a surprise drop in US jobs, pointing to improving wage growth and a further dip in the overall unemployment rate.
Traders are “testing higher prices on the back of good investment environment at home and abroad”, Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary.
Kobe Steel plunged 21.92 per cent to 1,068 yen following its weekend announcement that it had systematically fabricated inspection data for aluminium and copper products.
Its bigger rival Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal fell 0.50 per cent to 2,641 yen.
Japan’s major automakers — some of Kobe Steel’s key clients — could be hit by the brewing scandal.
Nevertheless, Toyota still rose 1.61 per cent to 7,000 yen though Nissan fell 0.22 per cent to 1,089 yen.
Some financial shares were hit by profit-taking, with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ falling 1.02 per cent to 727.3 yen.
The dollar fetched 112.61 yen against 112.65 yen in New York and 113.04 yen in Tokyo on Friday.
