Japanese shares rise amid stock rotation ahead of financial year-end

TOKYO: Japanese shares rose on Tuesday as investors sold technology stocks and shifted some of those funds to consumer goods companies expected to benefit from an economic recovery from the pandemic.

The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.20% to 28,805.46 by 0206 GMT. The broader Topix rose 0.66% to 1,906.20.

Technology and energy stocks fell as some investors booked profits before the fiscal year ends on March 31.

On the positive side, consumer cyclicals and real estate shares rose because they are closely tied to the domestic economy, which is expected to pick up as the year progresses.

However, the broader market may lack direction in the coming weeks after rallying to a more than 30-year high last month, which some investors said was a sign of excessive froth.

"There is some selling in the IT sector, but at the same time investors are willing to buy the dip for value shares that are linked to the domestic economy," said Ayako Sera, a market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

"You can tell that investors are planning for life after the coronavirus pandemic, but the market is likely to consolidate around current levels."

The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix names were Astellas Pharma Inc, up 3.36%, followed by Honda Motor Co Ltd, gaining 3.46%.

Many exporters got a boost after the yen fell to a nine-month low against the dollar.

A weaker yen inflates exporters' earnings when repatriated from overseas.

The underperformers among the Topix 30 were Nidec Corp , down 4.59%, followed by Nintendo Co Ltd, losing 2.91%.

There were 156 advancers on the Nikkei index against 69 decliners.

The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board was 0.74 billion, compared to the average of 1.38 billion in the past 30 days.