TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday, as investors bought back beaten down growth stocks, while Toyota Motor led automakers higher after posting a record monthly global sales.

The Nikkei index rose 0.88% to close at 32,619.34, while the broader Topix climbed 0.80% to 2,332.00.

U.S. stocks ended higher overnight as fresh economic data signalled a cooling U.S. economy, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will pause rate hikes in September.

“Movement of U.S. Treasury yields became steady, which gave comfort to investors who had sold growth stocks when the yields were on the rise. They bought back those stocks, such as chip-related shares,” said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.

“Also, investors gained confidence in manufacturers’ stocks after Toyota announced robust global sales. The weak yen also support their performance.”

Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 1.24% and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest gained 1.44%.

Toyota Motor jumped 2.38% after the automaker reported an 8% jump in July global sales to a record 859,506 vehicles.

Honda Motor and Nissan Motor gained 1.18% and 0.75%, respectively.

The auto sector jumped 1.89% to become the top gainer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sub-indexes.

All but three industry sub-indexes rose with one flat.

The brokerage sector slipped 0.35% to become the worst performer among the sub-indexes, while the banking sector lost 0.19%.