Japanese shares jump as cyclical stocks shine, tech shares cap gains

TOKYO: Japanese shares jumped on Thursday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains, as investors scooped up cyclical shares after the benchmark Nikkei's four consecutive weekly declines, but technology shares capped gains following the Nasdaq lower.

The Nikkei share average jumped 2.11% to 29,419.75 by 0213 GMT, while the broader Topix advanced 1.97% to 1,935.71.

"The market rebounded after sell-offs before the Golden Week holiday when investors were too cautious about the market outlook," said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"The strong US market also supported sentiment today. But I am not sure how long this will last because the situation in Japan is very different from that in the US".

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at a record high on Wednesday, driven by economically sensitive sectors, while the Nasdaq Composite ended lower as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen suggested an interest rate hike.

While the US economy has shown signs of recovery from the COVID-19 lows, Japan's economy still remains under strain, with the nation considering extending a state of emergency in Tokyo and other major urban areas.

Material makers led gains, with steel makers Nippon Steel and JFE Holdings surging 7.34% and 7.51%, respectively. Paper maker Oji Holdings jumped 6.82%.

Technology shares weighed on the indexes, with Advantest falling 1.35%. Tokyo Electron inched up 0.27% even as its annual operating profit forecast of 442 billion yen ($4.04 billion) beat analysts' forecast.

Nissan Motor rose 2.88%, after the carmaker sold its roughly 1.5% stake in German carmaker Daimler.