Japan’s Nikkei closes at highest level since 1991 Business

“But investors subsequently resumed buying in search of bargains amid less uncertainty about the US presidential election,” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

US President Donald Trump erupted in a tirade of unsubstantiated claims he was being swindled to win the US election as the vote count in battlefield states showed Democrat Joe Biden closing in on the victory.

But the explosion did little to shake the Tokyo market.

The dollar was trading at 103.58 yen in Asian trade, against 103.55 yen in New York and 104.30 yen in Tokyo on Thursday night.

In Tokyo, Toyota ended up 0.50 pc at 7,019 yen after saying it nearly doubled its forecast for the full year, saying sales and production were recovering quickly from the coronavirus pandemic.

Smaller rival Honda was up 2.51% to 2,589.5 yen before posting profits after the closing bell.

The automaker has updated its forecast for the full year, projecting net profit of 390 billion yen for the current year, up from an earlier estimate of 165 billion yen.

Nintendo ended down 0.17% to 57,810 yen on profit taking after starting with gains after its announcement, its first half net profit climbed 243.6% year-on-year while improving its forecast in sales and profits for the full year.

Eisai rallied 3.70% at 10,240 yen, a day after the drug company jumped 17.91% from the day’s high on a US Food and Drug Administration report claiming experimental therapy for Alzheimer’s that she co-developed with Biogen seems to be effective.

Japanese household spending fell 10.2% in September year-on-year, according to Home Affairs data released before the opening bell.

That figure was largely in line with market expectations of a 10.5% drop, as consumers refrained from spending, especially on transportation and entertainment.