TOKYO: Tokyo stocks marked a four-day winning streak on Wednesday as investors picked up shares of firms that issued strong earnings.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended up 1.68 percent or 455.12 points at 27,533.60, while the broader Topix index rose 2.14 percent or 40.50 points at 1,936.56.

The dollar stood at 114.73 yen, against 114.67 yen in New York late Tuesday.

"The Nikkei index opened the day broadly higher and continued to advance as investors cheered gains on Wall Street," SMBC Nikko Securities said in a note.

US stock futures also gained during Tokyo hours, encouraging investors who "bought shares of companies with strong earnings and high-tech issues," Okasan Online Securities said.

European stocks rally at open after Tokyo, US gains

Among notable winners, Sony Group rose 4.93 percent to 13,400 yen. After the market closed, the media-electronics conglomerate released upbeat earnings for nine months to December and upgraded annual net profit forecast to 860 billion yen ($7.5 billion) from its earlier estimate of 730 billion yen.

Panasonic advanced 1.47 percent to 1,275 yen. After the close, the electronics maker said its net profit for nine months to December surged 50 percent to 195.6 billion yen, while its sales rebounded 11.3 percent to 5.42 trillion yen.

Air carrier Japan Airlines rose 3.50 percent to 2,249 yen.

The company said in earnings after the close that it trimmed losses during the nine months to December to 128 billion yen, compared with 212 billion yen a year ago.

Toyota added 2.09 percent to 2,273.5 yen.

SoftBank Group rose 2.64 percent to 5,201 yen.

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