Tokyo Stocks Close Friday Up

RunWithRugs · 2026-03-12T00:47:26+00:00

Tokyo stocks closed higher after a volatile session, with the Nikkei gaining 342.78 points despite earlier losses due to rising oil prices and Middle East tensions. Buyers targeted beaten-down shares, indicating ongoing institutional interest.

RunWithRugs

2026-03-12 00:47:26

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(MENAFN) Tokyo equities closed higher Friday after a turbulent session, as investors moved to snap up recently battered shares, offsetting earlier losses driven by anxiety over the deepening conflict in the Middle East.

The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average — a 225-issue index — gained 342.78 points, or 0.62 percent, closing at 55,620.84, up from Thursday’s finish. The broader Topix index also recovered, rising 14.26 points, or 0.39 percent, to settle at 3,716.93.

The session was far from smooth, however. The Nikkei plunged nearly 1.4 percent — shedding more than 750 points at its lowest point during morning trade — after benchmark crude oil futures surged to the low $82-per-barrel range in New York trading on Thursday, the highest level recorded since July 2024, according to analysts. The spike in oil prices stoked investor fears over the economic fallout of sustained regional instability.

Markets reversed course through the afternoon as buyers stepped back in, targeting heavyweight shares that had been dragged down in recent sessions. The wave of buybacks proved sufficient to push both indexes firmly into positive territory by the closing bell.

Analysts noted that while underlying sentiment remains fragile amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, dip-buying appetite among institutional investors appears intact for now.

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