Tokyo stocks close higher

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed higher on Monday, extending rallies on Wall Street as coronavirus vaccines become increasingly available, with buying for dividends also supporting the Japanese market.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.71 percent, or 207.82 points, to end at 29,384.52, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.46 percent, or 9.18 points, to 1,993.34.

"The Nikkei index rose as demand for the rights to receive dividends was strong in the afternoon session" given today's deadline, Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

Ito added the market was supported by gains on Wall Street. The Dow ended up 1.4 percent at 33,072.88 on Friday, topping a record set earlier this month.

Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, noted that "investors were encouraged by progress in vaccinations" in the United States.

In Tokyo, Sony jumped 1.74 percent to 11,635 yen while Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing rose 0.86 percent to 86,390 yen.

Brokerage giant Nomura Holdings plunged 16.33 percent to 603 yen after it said it could post a "significant" loss due to transactions of its US subsidiary with a client.

The company didn't provide details on the possible loss, but said the estimated amount of the claim against the client is "approximately $2 billion."

Toyota gained 1.26 percent to 8,456 yen while Honda was up 0.57 percent to 3,323 yen. Nissan dipped 0.14 percent to 604.1 yen.

The dollar fetched 109.47 yen in Asian trade, against 109.63 yen in New York late Friday.