Nikkei tracks Wall Street higher, tech shares gain

TOKYO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Tuesday, as heavyweight technology stocks tracked overnight strength on Wall Street, while investors got relief from incoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor's consistent comments in both the houses of Parliament. By 0202 GMT, the Nikkei index was up 0.4% at 27,536.03 and the broader Topix had gained 0.23% to 1,997.51. U.S. stocks eked out a slight gain overnight, as investors engaged in some bargain hunting after last week's losses, the biggest percentage declines of 2023 for Wall Street's main benchmarks, as jitters persisted about coming interest rate hikes to tame stubbornly high inflation. "Today's market gains (in Japan) were underpinned by the overnight Wall Street's strength," said Yugo Tsuboi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities. "Also investors were relieved that (incoming BOJ Governor Kazuo) Ueda made consistent remarks at his two-day hearing in the parliament."

Ueda spoke at hearings in both lower and upper house of Japan's parliament on Friday and Monday, before he gets approval from the both chambers. Ueda is set to succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda, whose second, five-year term ends on April 8. Technology investors SoftBank Group rose 1.06% and robot maker Fanuc climbed 0.3%. Online medical services provider M3 2.3%. Japan Post Bank jumped 3.46% after its parent Japan Post Holdings said it would sell down its stake in the banking unit to under 65% from the current 89%.

Japan Post Holdings was down 1.38%. Shipping firms were the best performing sector among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with a 1.8% gain, followed by the real estate sector , rising 0.96%. Brokerages were the worst performers, falling 0.73%.

Cement maker Taiheiyo Cement rose 3.59% and was the top gainer on the Nikkei.

Car navigation maker Alps Alpine fell 4.68% to become the worst performer on the Nikkei.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

Reuters

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Nikkei tracks Wall Street higher, tech shares gain

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