Japanese shares rise on economic recovery hopes, Nomura falls

TOKYO: Japanese shares rose on Monday, lifted by optimism around corporate earnings and US economic recovery, while Nomura Holdings fell the most in a decade after it flagged a potential $2 billion loss.

The Nikkei share average advanced 0.81% to 29,412.24 by 0144 GMT, while the broader Topix rose 0.49% to 1,993.93.

"Investors are buying companies, particularly manufacturers that would benefit from the recovery of the global economy, and whose earnings are set to rise in the coming years," said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager for the research department of Tachibana Securities.

Aiding sentiment, the S&P 500 and Dow closed at record highs on Friday on hopes for a recovery in the US economy as vaccine rollouts continue.

Back home, chip-related shares led gains on the Nikkei, with Tokyo Electron jumping 4% and Advantest gaining 3.79%.

Nikkei heavyweight Fast Retailing, an operator of the Uniqlo brand clothing shops, rose 2.18%.

Nomura Holdings slumped almost 15%, the biggest percentage fall since November 2011, after Japan's largest brokerage flagged a potential $2 billion loss at a US subsidiary.

Kao Corp, up 2.22 %, gained the most among top 30 core Topix names, followed by Shin-Etsu Chemical.

The underperformers among the Topix 30 were SoftBank Group Corp, which fell 1.95%, followed by Hoya losing 1.58%.

There were 133 advancers on the Nikkei index against 89 decliners.