TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed higher on Wednesday after Wall Street rallied for a second straight session on receding worries about the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 1.42 percent, or 405.02 points, to end at 28,860.62, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.62 percent, or 12.39 points, to 2,002.24.
"The Nikkei index was up following gains of US shares. A wide variety of high tech shares were bought as fears over the Omicron variant receded," Okasan Online Securities said in a note.
Wall Street stocks were up for a second straight session as investors cheered early indications that the latest Covid-19 variant may be less severe than earlier versions, with the tech-rich Nasdaq enjoying a three-percent jump.
The dollar fetched 113.50 yen against 113.56 yen in New York late Tuesday.
In Tokyo trading, tech-related shares were higher with industrial robot maker Fanuc soaring 4.06 percent to 24,500 yen and chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron jumping 2.81 percent to 62,910 yen.
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing rose 1.31 percent to 68,750 yen while Nintendo gained 3.52 percent to 53,380 yen.
Sony jumped 2.03 percent to 14,270 yen while SoftBank Group lost 0.27 percent to 5,493 yen.
Automakers were lower with Toyota dropping 1.75 percent to 2,068 yen, Honda losing 0.64 percent to 3,237 yen and Nissan slipping 0.28 percent to 568.5 yen.
Japan's economy shrank 0.9 percent in the July-September quarter, a slightly larger contraction than a preliminary estimate of 0.8 percent, latest data by the Cabinet Office showed 10 minutes before the opening bell.
The data did not prompt any strong reaction from the market.
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