Japan's Nikkei gains on weaker yen
The Japanese currency sank as much as 0.5% against the US dollar, sliding towards Wednesday's 3-1/2-month nadir. A weak currency boosts the value of overseas revenues for heavyweight exporters.
Meanwhile, TSMC reported results that topped analyst forecasts during the Tokyo Stock Exchange's afternoon session. It undid some of the pessimism from Dutch chip-making tool supplier ASML's revenue warning, which had weighed on Japanese chip shares in the morning.
The tech-heavy Nikkei ended the day up 0.6% at 39,901.19, reversing earlier declines of as much as 0.7%.
The broader Topix rose 0.7%. Silicon producer Sumco was the Nikkei's biggest percentage gainer with a 7% jump. AI-focused start-up investor SoftBank Group was the biggest support in index-point terms with a 2.3% increase.
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