Tokyo Stocks Stage Strong Technical Rally; Nikkei Up 3.2 Pct

Tokyo, July 21 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo stocks staged a strong technical rally Tuesday following their sharp falls in the past two trading days. The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section finished at 66,232.19, up 2,091.07 points, or 3.26 pct, from Friday. The broader TOPIX index gained 95.74 points, or 2.44 pct, to 4,014.95. The Tokyo market was closed Monday for a national holiday. Tuesday’s rebound of the Nikkei was “somewhat unsatisfactory” after it fell a total of as much as about 4,600 points Thursday and Friday, a Japanese asset management company official said. Ahead of the releases of earnings results by major U.S. high-tech companies this week and later, “expectations and caution were mixed, so investors refrained from active buying,” the official added. On Tuesday, South Korea’s KOSPI stock index also rebounded sharply. An official of a major securities firm said that the Nikkei followed the move. The two indexes are expected to continue showing similar moves this week, a market source said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]