The broader Topix rose 1.26% to 2,019.67, adding 1.54% so far in the week. "Gains in Japanese shares are justified because they benefit from a recovery in China's economy. Chinese tourists to Japan would be a support for Japan's economy as well," said Jun Morita, general manager of the research department at Chibagin Asset Management. "But today's rise might be too much. And also, Wall Street was too strong overnight. Investors might have been too optimistic about the outlook for U.S. interest rates." U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday, as Treasury yields pulled back from earlier highs following comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic about his favoured path of interest rate hikes for the central bank. U.S. benchmark 10-year yields traded above 4% overnight, sending Japan's 10-year government bond yield above the Bank of Japan's policy band. Fast Retailing lifted the Nikkei by 93.96 points with a 3.37% jump, after the company posted a 21% jump in February same-store sales at its Uniqlo brand compared with a year earlier. Drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo rose 4.24% and silicon wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical gained 2.54%.
All the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange advanced, with precision instruments leading the gains with a 2.54% rise. The wholesales index jumped 2.23%, with Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corp rising 3.44% and 1.96%, respectively. Drug maker Otsuka Holdings lost 4.88% to become the worst performer on the Nikkei. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
