TOKYO: Japanese shares rose on Friday, with tech stocks leading gains, as investors bought into a domestic market that has lagged behind a global rally on concerns about the impact of rising costs on corporate earnings.
The Nikkei share average rose 1.1% to 29,608.29 by 0159 GMT, extending gains for a second session, while the broader Topix advanced 1.27% to 2,039.88. Both indexes are on course to remain flat for the week.
"Japanese shares are pretty much behind the global markets and their PER (price-earnings ratio) is low compared with other countries, which drove investors to buy Japanese stocks," said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the research department at Tachibana Securities.
"But it is still hard for the market to regain the 30,000 level."
Technology shares led gains on the Nikkei, tracking Wall Street cues as the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index bounced back from its worst session in more than six weeks.
Start-up investor SoftBank Group rose 3.3% and was headed for a 10% weekly gain, while chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron advanced 1.2% and medical platform M3 jumped 2%.
Property developers also advanced, with Mitsubishi Estate jumping 3.96% and Mitsui Fudosan gaining 4.39%.
Watchmaker Citizen Watch surged over 10% after its annual net profit beat forecasts.
Marui Group rose 5.82% as the retailer posted a half-year profit jump and announced a share buyback.
On the downside, Suzuki Motor lost 2.04% after the automaker's six-month net profit missed a market consensus.
Oki Electric Industry was down 5.02%, falling the most on the Nikkei, while Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings shed 4% and Keisei Electric Railway declined 2.2%.
There were 189 advancers on the Nikkei index against 34 decliners.
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