Japan Stocks rise on bargain buying

The Japan share market finished session higher on Wednesday, 29 January 2020, as investors chased for bottom fishing in recently battered stocks on tracking gains in Wall Street overnight. The majority of industry categories inclined into positive territory, with marine transportation, mining and machinery-linked issues being notable gainers. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average advanced 163.69 points, or 0.71%, to 23,379.40, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 7.67 points, or 0.45%, at 1,699.95.

The bargain buying propelled on calming fears on the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China after the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said he was confident in China's ability to stem the virus outbreak. More than 4,500 people have been confirmed ill with the virus and 106 have died with the coronavirus centered in the Chinese city of Wuhan, an industrial hub along the Yangtze river, prompted businesses to close operations and curbed travel.

The United States and several other nations were taking steps to airlift citizens out of a Chinese city at the center of the outbreak. Still, U.S. health officials said Tuesday that, for now, the risks to Americans is very low.

Shares of Apple suppliers were mixed after Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that the Cupertino-based tech giant's operations in China are being impacted by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the country. Japan's Taiyo Yuden declined 0.73% and Sharp fell 0.25%.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen, often viewed as a safe-haven currency in times of economic uncertainty, depreciated against a basket of currencies. The Japanese yen traded at 109.18 per dollar after weakening from levels below 109 yesterday.

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