By Xinhua,
Tokyo : Tokyo stocks rebounded Wednesday morning on Wall Street rally overnight as well as bargain hunting.
The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 77.29 points, or 0.98 percent, from Tuesday to 7,940.98.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 5.88 points, or 0.75 percent, to 793.00.
Gainers included pulp and paper, and retail issues. Decliners were led by transport equipment issues such as auto shares and sea transport issues.
Investors believed the New York market provided a huge boost for Tokyo. The fate of the Big Three automakers in the United States also showed signs of improvement, which also eased the nerve of traders.
But Japanese auto issues were among the day’s worst performers, because US data showed Tuesday that new car sales in the United States in November plunged to the lowest level in 26 years, with all six major US and Japanese manufacturers suffering falls of around at least 30 percent.
On the First Section, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones 1,181 to 439, with 93 others remaining unchanged.
Financial issues rose as bargain hunters stepped in, for example, Mizuho Financial Group, which gained 4,200 yen, or nearly 2 percent, to 232,500 yen.
Trading volume on the main section came to 1,715.54 million shares, down from Tuesday’s 1,889.19 million. Volume leader Nippon Steel shed 5 yen, or nearly two percent, to 265 yen.
The TSE’s Second Section index was down 4.61 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,912.76 on a volume of 34.67 million shares. On the Osaka Securities Exchange, the near-term December Nikkei 225 index futures contract was up 160 points to 8,040.