Nikkei rises as financials, tech shares rally

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Thursday after Wall Street gained overnight, with financial stocks rallying on an increase in US bond yields while tech shares attracted buyers after the yen weakened. 

The Nikkei ended 0.5 per cent higher at 22,838.37. 

Wall Street indexes ended higher as small-cap stocks surged, even as a rise in US bond yields to near their highest in seven years suggested more competition for equities and investors fretted over global politics 

Japanese banks and insurers, which invest in higher-yielding products such as foreign bonds, rallied. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group soared 1.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, while T&D Holdings surged 2.1 per cent. 

Yields on 10-year US Treasuries hit 3.10 per cent on Wednesday for the first time since July 2011. 

"Investors are still worried about rising US yields. But as long as the yield's rise is gradual, the market is likely to withstand it," said Masashi Oda, general manager of the strategic investment department at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management. 

The weaker yen supported big exporters such as tech companies. Advantest Corp gained 1.6 per cent, Kyocera Corp added 1.3 per cent and Sumco advanced 2.2 per cent. 

The broader Topix gained 0.5 per cent to 1,808.37.