TOKYO: Tokyo’s key Nikkei index closed up three percent on Wednesday, extending its winning streak to seven sessions, thanks to overnight US gains and a cheaper yen.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 3.00 percent or 816.05 points at 28,040.16, while the broader Topix index rose 2.33 percent or 44.96 points to 1,978.70.
The dollar stood at 121.08 yen, surging from 120.82 yen in New York late Tuesday.
Tokyo stocks open higher tracking US gains
A cheaper yen promoted “purchases of export-reliant industries” like electronics and automobiles, said Chiyo Takatori, a Daiwa Securities strategist.
Exporters generally benefit when the yen falls because it makes their products more competitive overseas and boosts the value of foreign income.
Investors are picking up the US currency as the Federal Reserve moves to hike interest rates in a drive to control inflation, while the Bank of Japan maintains its ultra-loose monetary policy to keep interest rates low.
The Tokyo bourse was also buoyed by overnight gains of Wall Street shares, with the tech-rich Nasdaq index jumping nearly two percent.
“The Nasdaq’s gain brightened investor sentiment and encouraged buying of a variety of shares including under-valued issues,” Okasan Online Securities said.
The Tokyo bourse powered through profit-taking to end the day above the 28,000 mark for the first time in more than two months, even as worries over energy inflation and Ukraine continued to weigh on the market.
SoftBank Group roared 7.22 percent to 5,421 yen after shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba jumped in New York. SoftBank Group is a major shareholder of Alibaba.
Energy developer Inpex rose 1.88 percent to 1,462 yen, and construction equipment maker Komatsu added 2.34 percent to 2,994 yen.
Toyota jumped 3.99 percent to 2,137 yen. Advantest, a major producer of tools to build semiconductors, advanced 4.29 percent to 9,490 yen.
Nintendo rose 3.26 percent to 63,890 yen and Sony Group rose 2.19 percent to 12,845 yen.
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