Japan's Nikkei index closed at its highest level in more than five months on Wednesday, as caution over the Bank of Japan's policy stance faded after it did not provide any hints on when it would abandon its negative interest rate policy.
The Nikkei rose 1.37% to close at 33,675.94 points, the highest closing level since July 3. The broader Topix index rose 0.67% to 2,349.38 points
Shotaro Yasuda, a market analyst at the Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, said there was no indication from Bank of Japan Governor (Kazuo) Ueda about the timing of the exit from the bank's negative interest rate policy.
He added that speculation about a shift in the Bank of Japan's policy was affecting the Japanese market, and for this reason the performance of local stocks was lower than their American counterparts. Now that caution has waned.
The Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-accommodative monetary policy yesterday, Tuesday, in a move that was widely expected.
Shuji Hosui, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities, said the Nikkei rose because investors who bet on stocks falling before the Bank of Japan's decision bought stocks again.
Fast Retailing, which owns the Uniqlo clothing brand, rose 3.92 percent, providing the biggest support to the Nikkei index.
Shin-Etsu Chemical, a maker of silicon chips, jumped 4.08%, and Daikin Industries, a maker of air conditioners, rose 3.1%.
The shipping sector rose 3.16 percent, becoming the biggest gainer among 33 sector sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
