By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
rose on Tuesday, following Wall Street's lead overnight, as
investors positioned ahead of crucial U.S. inflation data later
in the day that could dictate the direction for Federal Reserve
policy.
The Japanese government nominated academic Kazuo Ueda as the
next Bank of Japan head as had been reported in the media,
limiting the effect on markets.
The Nikkei ended up 0.64% at 27,602.77. It had
rallied to as high as 27,721.82 early in the session, which had
put it in striking distance of last week's two-month high at
27,821.22.
"Tonight we'll get the long-awaited U.S. CPI data, and it's
almost certain to be a big driver of market direction," limiting
potential upside ahead of the result, said Kazuo Kamitani, a
Nomura strategist.
"In the end, 27,700 for Nikkei was too heavy."
Of the Nikkei's 225 components, 166 rose, 54 fell and five
were flat.
Citizen Watch Co. soared 16.2% on a stock buyback
plan to far outpace all of its Nikkei rivals.
Domestic earnings continued to split the market between big
winners and losers, with engineering company Kajima jumping 5.4% while online company Recruit Holdings slumped 5%, making it the Nikkei's biggest drag.
The broader Topix gained 0.78% to 1,993.09, after
earlier rising to 1,996.80, and threatening to retake the 2,000
level for the first time since Dec. 1.
"Concerns over the global economy are receding now that
the U.S. is likely to achieve a soft landing, Europe is likely
to avoid stagflation and China is likely to generate high growth
after the end of the zero-COVID policy," Daiwa Securities equity
strategist Kenji Abe said, who expects the Nikkei to rise as
high as 29,500 by end-March.
"Investors are becoming more optimistic."
(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
