Share prices in Tokyo closed broadly higher this morning, led by the chip sector following better than expected results from US group Applied Materials overnight. The Nikkei 225 rose 111.45 points, 1.1pc to 10,337.67, just of its session high of 10,431.41, with the market also helped by a rally on Wall St. The broader TOPIX index rose 12.34 points, or 1.2pc, to 1,018.50.
Tokyo Electron, the world's second largest maker of chipmaking equipment, rose 5.4pc, and Advantest gained 3.6pc. Overnight, Applied Materials posted better than expected fiscal Q4 earnings and said the quarter represented a turning point for the semiconductor-equipment business. It said that it expects orders to rise 20pc in the current quarter. Bank stocks also rose on reports the Government is considering using public money to bailout Ashikaga Financial Group, the holding company behind a troubled regional bank. An official denied the report. Tomorrow, the Government publishes the latest GDP data and it is expected to announce the economy grew 0.3pc from the previous quarter, or at an annualised rate of 1.4pc, down from 3.9pc in the April-June period, according to a survey.//www.fxcentre.com