0.5% to 27,733.97. The index has gained 0.8% so far in the week. The broader Topix was up 0.37% at 1,992.27, adding 1.09% so far in the week. "Robust outlook of domestic firms is a strong tailwind for the market. Investors were relieved to confirm corporate performance," said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities. "Still, the market has not set the direction yet. Its move is based on earnings of individual companies," Arisawa said, adding that market gains were limited as investors awaited January U.S. consumer price inflation data due next week. Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 4.5% after raising its full-year operating profit forecast and
was the biggest boost for the Nikkei. Its peer Advantest rose 1.6%.
Kobe Steel surged about 15% to become the top performer on the Nikkei after saying the steel maker would pay a record-high full-year dividend.
The steel makers index jumped 3.94% to become the top performing sector among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Dai Nippon Printing , in which activist investor
Elliott Management has a stake, surged 12.40 after the printing
firm announced its largest share buyback to date.
The real estate sector fell 1.43%, dragged down
by Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsui Fudosan , which
lost 3.71% and 1.63%, respectively.
Of the Nikkei components, 137 storks rose against 79
decliners, while nine were flat.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
