TOKYO: Tokyo stocks extended their gains Wednesday, getting support from a weaker yen and foreign repurchases.

The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 93.72 points, or 0.41 pct, to end at 22,843.96, after surging 420.30 points Tuesday.

The TOPIX index of all first-section issues finished up 19.57 points, or 1.23 pct, at 1,605.53, following a 39.22-point jump the previous day.

A wide range of stocks attracted buying after a mixed start, thanks to the yen’s weakening against the dollar and foreign investors’ moves to buy back shares they had sold.

Bucking the overall trend, the Nikkei briefly slipped into negative terrain in the morning, weighed down by a plunge in technology investor SoftBank Group, a heavily-weighted component of the key market gauge.

In the afternoon, the market continued to draw broad-based buying as well as nonresidents’ buybacks to square their positions ahead of summer holidays, brokers said.

JIJI Press