Japan Nikkei rises ahead of BOJ policy meet

Japan share market finished session higher on Tuesday, 19 July 2022, after a long weekend, on tracking gains on global market on Monday, amid receding concerns over the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes after U.S. economic data last week showed that inflation expectations of consumers eased in July.

However, market gains were limited on caution ahead to the Bank of Japan's policy meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, which is expected to keep its ultra-loose policy in place amid concerns the yen's decades-low weakness will add to the cost of imported commodities and widen the country's trade deficit.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average advanced 173.21 points, or 0.65%, to 26,961.68. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 10.29 points, or 0.54%, to 1,902.79.

Shares of Japanese heavy industries were some of the strong performers, buoyed by a report over the weekend that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government won't set a ceiling on defence spending in the next annual budget. Kawasaki Heavy Industries rose 5.2% and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was up 2.5%.

Energy-related shares drew buying as crude oil futures contract for August climbed overnight. Oil explorer Inpex climbed 4.7 percent to 1,409 yen, while refiners Idemitsu Kosan gained 1.9% and Eneos Holdings was up 1.7%.

Utilities companies weighed in the Nikkei, with Kansai Electric Power Co Inc falling 2.8% and Tokyo Electric Power Co Holdings Inc down 2.4%.

CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar fell to the upper 137 yen line in Tokyo as investors bought back the Japanese currency on hopes that the interest rate gap between the two countries will narrow after the release of the U.S. consumer confidence data on Friday. At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 137.73-75 yen compared with 138.08-18 yen in New York on Monday.

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