Nikkei rebounds after Fed eases rate hike worries

The Nikkei has bounced back from its recent losing streak today (April 10th), following reassurance from the US Federal Reserve over the timing of interest rate rises.

Coming off the back of a four-day losing streak, the Nikkei rose by one per cent over the course of the session, rebounding from the three-week low reached by the index yesterday.

However, losses were extended by Toyota after the car manufacturer confirmed it was recalling more than six million vehicles around the world as a result of a range of safety issues.

Japanese tech stocks, including the index heavyweight SoftBank Corp, were dragged down by falling technology shares in the US. The US market often has a knock-on effect on the state of the Japanese index, especially within the technology industry.

The Nikkei was also affected by comments made by the Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who stated that near-term stimulus is not being considered by the country, despite concerns from investors over the state of the economy.

A portfolio manager at a Japanese asset management firm told Reuters the improvement in the Nikkei's overall value today was a "technical rebound" as attention has shifted back to the state of the US economy.

Big companies up

Some of the biggest companies in Japan were responsible for the rise in the Nikkei today, with Honda Motor Co up by nearly one per cent, while there was a 1.1 per cent increase for Sony Corp and Canon Inc recorded a 1.6 per cent jump in its share price today.

As well as the Nikkei increasing, there was a rise of 1.2 per cent for the broader Topix index and a 1.2 per cent increase for the JPX-Nikkei Index 400, which increased to 10,596.21.

It has been an extremely difficult start to the year for the Nikkei, which is down by more than ten per cent in the last three months, erasing some of the gains piled up by the index during its extremely successful 2013, a year in which it comfortably outperformed global rivals such as the Dow Jones in the US and the FTSE 100 in London.

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