TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday, as tech stocks tracked Wall Street’s overnight gains, while the broader Topix index fell as banks lost ground after a sharp rally.
The Nikkei rose 1.14 percent to close at 49,864.68. The Topix slipped 0.2 percent to 3,334.32.
“Investors bought stocks that became cheap and sold those which had risen,” said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
Chip-related shares jumped, with technology investor SoftBank Group surging 6.38 percent. Chip-related Advantest and Tokyo Electron rose 5.3 percent and 4.73 percent, respectively.
US stocks closed higher on Tuesday, recording their sixth gain in seven sessions, buoyed by advances in technology shares as expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates next week remained elevated.
Shares of Japan’s biggest banks fell, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group slipping 2 percent each, while Mizuho Financial Group fell 1.3 percent.
Bank shares had rallied earlier this week after Bank of Japan’s Governor Kazuo Ueda gave the clearest hint so far on a rate hike, saying that the central bank would consider the “pros and cons” of rising rates at its December 18-19 meeting.