The Nikkei 225 Index Closes 1.47% Higher

The Nikkei 225 Index gained 944 points or 1.47 percent on Friday to close at 65158 points. Gains were led by Softbank (11.32%), Nidec (7.85%) and Takara (7.84%).

Asian equity markets advanced on Friday as traders scaled back expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike this month after Governor Christopher Waller said he would support keeping rates unchanged if price pressures continue to ease. Traders now see roughly even odds of a quarter-point Fed hike in September, down from about 70% earlier this week. Investors also continued to monitor sharp moves in the yen after the currency rallied strongly this week on expectations for more aggressive policy tightening by the Bank of Japan, while traders watched for signs of official intervention to support the Japanese currency. Shares in Japan, South Korea, China, and Hong Kong all gained, with technology stocks leading regional advances.

The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.26% to close at 65,021 on Friday, snapping a four-day losing streak as traders scaled back expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike this month after Governor Christopher Waller said he would support keeping rates unchanged if price pressures continue to ease. Meanwhile, markets are watching for a potential rate increase by the Bank of Japan at its September meeting to contain inflationary pressures. Investors also continued to monitor sharp movements in the yen after the currency gained as much as 3% over two sessions. Technology and artificial intelligence-linked stocks led the rebound, with notable gains from Kioxia Holdings (5.4%), SoftBank Group (11.8%), Taiyo Yuden (6.4%), Advantest (2.5%) and Fujikura (2.1%). Still, the Nikkei fell 2.08% for the week as elevated oil prices and a recent rally in global bond yields weighed on equities during the period.