Japan Nikkei gains on Fed rate cut hopes

Headline indices of the Japan share market advanced on Thursday, 04 July 2019, on tracking solid gains on Wall Street overnight as data pointed to slowing economic growth in the United States, bolstering the prospect of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve as soon as this month. Market gains were, however, capped due to lack of active participation by investors to wait for the U.S. Labor Department's employment report for June, due out Friday, and further announcements of earnings results by Japanese companies. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 0.3%, or 64.29 points, to 21,702.45, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose by 0.65%, or 10.24 points, at 1,589.78.

Rising issues outnumbered falling ones 1,599 to 467 in the TSE's first section, while 83 issues were unchanged. Volume dropped to 822 million shares from Wednesday's 1.008 billion shares

All three major stock indices on Wall Street ended at records on Wednesday after a plethora of mediocre US economic data appeared to boost the odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. On Wednesday, data showed that private payrolls in the U.S. increased less than expected in June, raising expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could cut interest rates at its upcoming monetary policy meeting. Last month, the central bank opened the door to easier monetary policy by stating it will act as appropriate to maintain the current economic expansion. Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 179.32 points to end the day at 26,966, notching closing all-time highs. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.7% to close at 8,170.23, while the S&P 500 also gained 0.7% to close at 2,995.82.

On US-China trade front, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Wednesday that face-to-face negotiations between the U.S. and China would begin soon. Investors are watching for developments as the two economic powerhouses remain locked in a trade fight, with Kudlow's comments coming days after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed not to impose new tariffs on each other's goods.

SoftBank Group was boosted 3.4% by a news report that the U.S. Justice Department may soon approve a merger between Sprint Corp., its U.S. mobile phone unit, and peer T-Mobile U.S. Inc. Furniture retailer Nitori gained 4% after it released brisk business results for March-May.

On the other hand, precision processing equipment manufacturer Disco fell for the second consecutive session after it reported a sales drop in April-June.

CURRENCY NEWS: Japanese yen, often seen as a safe-haven currency, appreciated against greenback on Thursday. The Japanese yen, viewed as a safe-haven currency, traded at 107.77 against the dollar after strengthening from levels around 108.5 seen earlier this week.

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