TOKYO: Big gains for SoftBank Group kept Japan's Nikkei share average in the black on Tuesday, leading an outperformance in technology stocks while most shares on the index fell.
Startup investor SoftBank Group Corp was the top performer on the Nikkei in terms of index points, rallying 10.1% as of the midday break. The company announced a 1 trillion yen ($8.8 billion) share buyback after the market close on Monday, at the same time as revealing a quarterly loss as its portfolio companies slumped.
The Nikkei held on to post a 0.1% advance to 29,536.17. It earlier rose as much as 0.82% before briefly dipping into negative territory.
Tech was handily the best performing sector, rallying 1.84%. Smart phone app company DLE Inc was the top percentage gainer, surging 21.15% after announcing financial results.
Internet Initiative Japan Inc jumped 8.55% after SMBC Nikko Securities upgraded the stock and raised its target price.
Heavyweight chipmakers Advantest and Tokyo Electron rose 1.99% and 0.51%, respectively.
However, more than twice as many shares fell than rose on the Nikkei, with real estate, consumer non-cyclicals and industrials the worst performing sectors.
The broader Topix slipped 0.08% to 2,033.58.
"Because of its heavy weighting, SoftBank Group is lifting the Nikkei, but essentially the market is down," said a market participant at the domestic securities company.
"Japan isn't seeing the speed of economic recovery of somewhere like the US, so it seems likely that the Nikkei will continue to be hemmed in around 29,500 for the time being."
While US stocks eked out small gains to post new record highs overnight, S&P 500 futures pointed to a 0.19% decline at the reopen.
A strengthening yen also weighed on sentiment, as the currency rose as far as 112.985 per dollar on Tuesday.
Among notable decliners, Fujikura was the Nikkei's worst performer, slumping 5.97% following disappointing financial results.
Internet retailer Rakuten Group dropped 3.88%, Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing lost 1.55% and Toyota Motor slipped 0.44%.
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