Japan's Nikkei Stock Average Tracks Wall Street Higher; Chip-Related Stocks Drag
The Nikkei .N225 rose 0.5% to 40,499.21 as of 0156 GMT. The broader Topix .TOPX gained 0.68% to 2,936.09.
On Monday, all three major U.S. stock indexes logged their steepest daily percentage climb since May 27, as investors sought bargains after Friday's selloff and ramped up bets for a September rate cut following a weaker-than-expected jobs data.
In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries7011.T gained 3.64% as Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the heavy machinery maker would deliver Australia's new A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) navy frigate program.
Technology investor SoftBank Group 9984.T rose 2% to lend the strongest boost to the Nikkei.
Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's (TSE) prime market, 76% rose, 19% fell and 3% traded flat.
All but four of the TSE's 33 industry sub-indexes advanced.
Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron 8035.T lost 1.2% and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T fell 0.25% to weigh on the Nikkei.
'Those shares led the Nikkei's rally last month, but so far they have lost that strong momentum,' Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory, said.
Markets were jolted last week when shares of Tokyo Electron plunged to their daily limit low after the firm slashed its profit forecast by a fifth.
The yen's slight gain against the U.S. dollar also weighed on sentiment, Yasuda said.
The Japanese yen JPY=EBS firmed slightly to 146.62 per dollar after minutes of the Bank of Japan's June policy meeting revealed that some board members favored resuming interest rate hikes if trade frictions ease. FRX/
A stronger yen typically pressures exporter shares by reducing the value of overseas earnings when converted into Japanese currency.
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