TOKYO: Japanese shares closed up 0.57 percent at a nine-month high on Wednesday as a weaker yen helped to offset negative sentiment following an overnight decline on Wall Street.The headline Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 61.62 points at 10,808.29, the highest since April 30.
The Topix index of all first section shares rose 4.73 points, or 0.49 percent, to 967.30."The fact that shares are clinging to such high levels signifies the strong buying momentum of foreign investors," Okasan Securities strategist Hideyuki Ishiguro told Dow Jones Newswires.
The dollar was at 83.72 yen in Tokyo trade, easing slightly from 83.77 yen in New York Tuesday when it hit a two month high against the Japanese unit at 83.93 yen on brighter prospects for the US economy. The euro fetched 113.20 yen from 112.97."Compared with the US and Europe, Japanese shares are still trading below the levels" before Lehman Brothers collapsed to spark the global downturn, Hiroaki Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management, said.
He added some foreign investors still view Japan stocks as laggards despite recent gains.
Wall Street was dragged lower Tuesday after retail sales, a key indicator of consumer spending driving two-thirds of the economy, slowed to a weaker-than-expected 0.3 percent rise in January, data showed.However, severe snow storms across much of the country appeared to be a factor and dealers said the economy remained on an uptrend.
The Dow fell 0.34 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.46 percent.Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu Motor was up 1.99 percent at 1,328 yen, but Toyota Motor lost 0.12 percent to 3,905 after a Nikkei report that Daihatsu will begin production of low-priced compact cars in Indonesia. Toshiba rose 3.19 percent to 549 yen. Astellas Pharma fell 1.50 percent to 3,265 after it withdrew its new drug application in Japan for its circulatory disease treatment, Darexaban. bur-oh/dan
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