Japan's Nikkei rises following Wall Street's record high

TOKYO: Japanese shares advanced, tracking U.S. stocks which rose to record highs as Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th U.S. president, while sentiment was also buoyed on hopes for better Japanese corporate earnings.

Nikkei share average rose 0.81% to 28,755.68 as of 0141 GMT, while the broader Topix rose 0.67% to 1,861.82.

"The market rose on expectations for more stimulus packages in the U.S.," said Yoshihiro Takeshige, general manager at investment management department of Asahi Life Asset Management.

"Another positive factor is that Japanese manufacturers could revise up their earnings forecast, particularly those benefiting from a recovery of Chinese economy."

Wall Street's main indexes rose to record highs on hopes that Biden would put in place further economic stimulus to offset damage wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many companies are lined up for reporting their quarterly results starting from Monday. Nidec Corp, which has risen more than 9% this month, is one of the first to announce the results.

Dentsu Group jumped 5.43%, becoming the largest gainer in the index, after a report that the advertising giant is considering the sale of its Tokyo headquarters, which local media said could fetch around 300 billion yen ($2.9 billion)

Panasonic jumped 4.11% after a report that the company is set to sell vaccine refrigerators.

SoftBank Group rose 3.77% to a record high after Alibaba Group's American Depositary Receipts rose following a video reappearance of its founder Jack Ma.

The largest losers were Screen Holdings, which fell 2.14 %, followed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries losing 2.07 % and AGC falling 1.91 %.