Japanese shares end higher amid yen’s weakness; chip shares, Toyota shine

TOKYO, Aug 1 (Reuters) – Japanese shares ended higher on Tuesday, as investors cheered the weaker yen, with gains led by heavyweight chip-related firms and auto maker Toyota Motor, which doubled its quarterly profit.

The Nikkei jumped 0.92% to close at 33,476.58, while the broader Topix advanced 0.64% to 2,337.36.

Wall Street edged up on Monday, ending a strong July on upbeat company earnings and hopes of a soft landing amid a resilient U.S. economy.

“Japanese shares tracked Wall Street gains. They also benefited from the yen’s weakness, which tends to boost domestic corporate earnings,” said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager of the research department at Tachibana Securities.

The yen slipped to a fresh three-week low, as traders pondered the Bank of Japan’s latest steps to tweak its yield curve control policy.

The yen and stocks typically move in opposite directions, since a stronger currency hurts exporters’ competitiveness and also makes stocks more expensive for foreigners.

“Investors bet on a rally on Japanese shares overall so they targetted shares on the Topix index,” Kamada said.

Toyota Motor 7203.T rose 2.49%, leading gains on the Topix after the automaker nearly doubled its operating profit in the first quarter.

Game and audio equipment maker Sony Group 6758.T was up 1.24%.

Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron 8035.T rose 2.82%, providing the biggest boost to the Nikkei. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T jumped 4.02%.

All but four of 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose.

The banking index snapped its three-session rally, falling 1.23% to become the worst performer among the index groups.

Utilities advanced 3.29% to become the best performing index.

(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sonia Cheema)

((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))