TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Topix index rose to a
2-1/2-month high on Thursday, with auto and tyre makers leading
the charge on the back of a weaker yen, while Wall Street's
strong finish overnight also lifted market sentiment.
The broader Topix had gained 0.73% to 2,002.22 by
the midday break, hitting its highest since Nov. 28. The Nikkei was up 0.81% at 27,723.60.
"The weakened yen lifted sentient. There were not many
market-moving cues, but the market was firm," said Shigetoshi
Kamada, general manager at the research department at Tachibana
Securities.
The yen hovered near a six-week low against the dollar after
strong U.S. retail sales data drove the greenback's gain. A softer yen tends to help exporter shares as it increases
the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms repatriate
them to Japan.
The automobile sector jumped 1.9%, making it the
best performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange.
Toyota Motor rose 2.11% and Honda Motor gained 1.43%.
Tyre makers jumped 1.86%, with Bridgestone rising 1.92% to become the top gainer on the Nikkei.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries and Yokohama Rubber advanced 3.21% and 1.47%, respectively.
Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose
1.14% and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest climbed 1.28%.
"An increase in foreign visitors raised expectations for
economic growth," Kamada said.
Visitors to Japan climbed to nearly 1.5 million in January,
the national tourism agency said on Wednesday, showing an
accelerating recovery in tourism after the government scrapped
COVID-19 curbs in October.
Department store operators rose, with Matsuya and
Takashimaya up 2.67% and 1.16%, respectively.
Paper and pulp makers declined 0.61%, making the
sector worst performer among sub-indexes. Oji Holdings slipped 0.95%.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
