Tokyo shares hit 3-month high

Japan's stock benchmark Nikkei rose to a three-month high on Wednesday, with financial stocks leading gains, as speculative short-covering during afternoon trade helped the index recoup losses seen earlier in the day.
The Nikkei average gained 0.7% to 21,419.23, its highest closing level since February 28.
"Today's rally is largely a short-covering move by macro hedge funds. It's happening not only in Japan but also in the US market," said Masanari Takada, cross-assets strategist at Nomura Securities.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were last quoted 0.7% higher in late Asian trade.
The broader Topix added 1% to 1,549.47, its highest finish since February 27, with all but five of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange closing in positive territory.
Financial stocks notched sharply higher, with securities , insurance and banking among the best-performing sectors on the main bourse.
Dai-ichi Life Holdings jumped 6.3%, Nomura Holdings advanced 5.7% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) climbed 3.6%.
Bucking the overall market, semiconductor-related companies came under pressure amid rising tensions between the United States and China, with Tokyo Electron Ltd and Advantest Corp shedding 3.6% and 2.7%, respectively.
Transport companies also fell as investors locked in profits from recent gains, with West Japan Railway Co losing 2.8% and ANA Holdings Inc declining 2.0%.
Air and land transport companies rallied earlier this week as investors cheered Japan's decision on Monday to lift the coronavirus-induced state of emergency nationwide. The turnover of Tokyo's main board was 2.88 trillion yen ($26.8 billion), a one-month high.