TOKYO: Japanese stocks closed 1.48 percent higher on Wednesday, tracking gains in Europe and on Wall Street sparked by firm US housing data, improved German sentiment and reports of a deal on Greece's debt.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 123.50 points to close at 8,459.98. The Topix index of all first-section shares rose 1.0 percent, or 7.19 points, to 725.68.
Traders took their lead from Wall Street after figures showed new US housing starts jumped 9.3 percent in November to their best level since April 2010, when since-expired tax credits were driving sales. The news suggested a turnaround in the battered US housing sector.
"The housing sector data are quite important, (and) followed some good developments coming out of Europe," Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, said.
European markets were boosted by encouraging signs for the eurozone economy after two leading economic indicators in Germany showed surprisingly bright sentiment while Spain pulled off another successful bond auction.
Greece, meanwhile, said it was near a crucial deal with private banks to write down a chunk of its foreign debt, a move expected to save Athens more than 100 billion euros ($130 billion) in financing costs.
But Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management, was more sceptical.
"(Although) Europe's risk somewhat eased, still, nothing really has changed at the root of the problem," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
On currency markets, the euro stood at $1.3103, down from $1.3131 in New York Tuesday, and at 102.03 yen, up from 101.88 yen in New York.
The dollar was trading at 77.78 yen, slightly lower from 77.89.
Olympus lost 1.40 percent to 1,050 after Japanese investigators raided its Tokyo headquarters and other locations as they looked for evidence of wrongdoing in a two-decade long loss cover-up.
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