Japanese Nikkei closes higher amid upcoming Powell speech

Japanese stocks closed slightly higher on Friday after losing some of their previous gains as traders waited for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech for an update on US monetary tightening.

Shares of the Nikkei rose 0.57% on average to 28 641.38, below the morning’s session high of 28 792.93.

The Topix also lost some of its early gains to close 0.15% higher at 1979.59.

The market was supported by a tech rally on Wall Street overnight on the back of declining US bond yields as Fed officials made no promises about the size of the interest rate hike they would pass at their meeting next month.

Powell will speak at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at 14:00 GMT.

“The desire to close positions can be intensified, and this is a difficult environment for opening new positions,” market participants say.

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The Nikkei was still down 1% for the week after a three-week rise.

Of the 225 stocks that make up the Nikkei, 134 rose against 83 that fell, while eight remained unchanged.

The industrial sector was the most efficient, followed by the main materials and technologies. The energy sector suffered the most losses after the decline in crude oil prices.

Microchip equipment maker Tokyo Electron posted the largest gain in index points, adding 35 points to the benchmark, up 2.23%.

Store operator Uniqlo Fast Retailing scored 33 points, up 1.1%.

Startup investor SoftBank Group also surged 1.19% after major holding company Alibaba rallied following a Wall Street Journal report that the United States and China were close to an agreement to allow U.S. accounting regulators to visit Hong Kong to review audit records of Chinese companies registered in the USA.