The majority of Japanese stocks rose at the close of today’s transactions

Most Japanese stocks on Thursday saw a rally led by manufacturing companies on profit optimism while concerns about the banking sector affected financial firms.

The Nikkei index rose 0.15%, closing at 28,457.68 points, recovering from a 0.6% decline, at the beginning of the session and the broader Topix index increased 0.43%, to 20,32.51 points.

Heavy equipment maker Hitachi jumped 3.67%, after saying full-year operating profit rose 45%, contradicting that of brokerage Nomura Holdings, which fell 7.24%, after the company reported a decline in quarterly profit.

Chip testing equipment maker Advance Corp fell more than 9.21%, its biggest decline in nearly three years after its profit forecast fell short of market expectations.

Nomura joined major Wall Street companies in announcing a business slump after two U.S. banks collapsed last month, and U.S. stocks were underperforming overnight, but the Nasdaq Tech Index rose following optimistic results from Microsoft and Google Alphabet.

Investors await U.S. inflation data on Friday ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve monetary policy decision, while Japan’s central bank begins a two-day meeting on Thursday.