TOKYO: Japanese shares ended higher on Thursday as better-than-expected machinery orders data and Wall Street's rebound from a three-day losing streak bolstered investor sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei share average closed 0.88% higher at 23,235.47, with 197 advancers on the index against 25 decliners. The broader Topix gained 1.21% to 1,624.86, marking the highest close since Sept. 3.
Both the indexes clawed back from a 1-1/2-week low marked in the previous session. Japan's technology and semiconductor stocks took cues from US peers and jumped, with SoftBank Group Corp rising 2.17% to snap a five-session run of losses.
Internet services provider Rakuten jumped more than 7.7%, while semiconductor manufacturer Screen Holdings inched up 0.96%. Investors also cheered the upbeat domestic data, with precision motors maker Nidec Corporation rising 3.61%, electrical equipment manufacturer Yaskawa Electric Corporation gaining 1.54% and factory automation machinery manufacturer Fanuc Corporation climbing 2.59%.
Nintendo added 1.99% after Bloomberg News reported that the company raised its production goal for gaming console Switch by another 20%. The Mothers Index of start-up firm shares bucked the overall firmness and lost 0.81% to post its second day of losses.
Wall Street's main indexes closed higher overnight as investors jumped back in to take advantage of the pullback in tech-related stocks. Also underpinning gains, Japan's core machinery orders, a leading gauge of capital spending, rebounded in July from a sharp fall in the previous month.
The Cabinet Office's data showed July's core machinery orders grew 6.3%. Among sectors and shares, shippers, glass and ceramics and other financial were among the top performing sectoral sub-indexes on the main bourse.
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