Japanese shares advance on growing hopes for economic restart

TOKYO/SYDNEY, May 20 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks gained on
Wednesday, supported by hopes that the government would allow
economic and social activities to resume in response to a
decline in new coronavirus infections.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 climbed 0.8% to a fresh
two-and-a-half month closing high of 20,595.15, with shares in
the healthcare and technology sectors leading the advance.
Japan's government is expected to lift its state of
emergency for Osaka and Kyoto in western Japan on Thursday after
the rate of coronavirus infection fell below the government's
numerical target, domestic media have reported. The number of infections in Tokyo and its surrounding areas
is still above the government's threshold, but growth in new
cases is on a clear downtrend, suggesting the government may
also lift the state of emergency for the country's capital.
Investor sentiment also got a boost after the Bank of Japan
said it would hold an emergency meeting on Friday to decide the
details of a loan programme for small firms. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 , which were last
quoted up 0.5% in late Asian trade, provided a tailwind for
Tokyo shares.
The broader Topix .TOPX added 0.6% to 1,494.69, its best
finish since March 5, with all but six of the 33 sector
sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange closing higher.
Highly cyclical non-ferrous metals .INFRO.T , oil and coal
products .IPETE.T and construction .ICNST.T were the top
three performing sectors on the main bourse.
Sony Financial Holdings Inc (Sony FH) 8729.T surged 7.6%,
after Sony Corp 6758.T said on Tuesday it will turn its listed
financial arm Sony FH into a wholly owned unit through a tender
offer worth about 400 billion yen ($3.7 billion). Corp fell 2.3%.
Japan Exchange Group Inc 8697.T and Kakaku.com Inc
2371.T jumped 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively, on speculation one
of them could replace Sony FH as the benchmark Nikkei's
constituent.
Elsewhere, the index of startup-heavy Mothers market
advanced 3.3% to a 5-1/2 month closing high, with cloud-based
software developer freee KK 4478.T soaring 10.3%.
Bucking the overall trend, shares of Fujifilm 4901.T fell
2.6% after a report that clinical trials of its anti-flu drug
Avigan showed it was not affective in treating the coronavirus.
Sharp Corp 6753.T lost 5.4% after the company reported a
37% decline in annual operating profit and refrained from
releasing an earnings outlook for the current year, citing
uncertainty over the coronavirus impact. = 107.7800 yen)