Japan's Nikkei average rose on Thursday, ith blue-chip exporters bounding higher on a softening of the yen against the dollar and Shinsei Bank (8303.T: Quote, Profile, Research) putting in a powerful market debut.
Shinsei, the first bank in Japan to be nationalised, sold to a private equity fund and then floated on the market, closed at 827 yen, 58 percent over its initial public offering (IPO) price.
But while some of Japan's megabanks eased in response to the wildly popular IPO, market participants said concerns that Shinsei's debut would suck funds from other market sectors had proved unwarranted.
The weaker yen helped electronics giant Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) gain over three percent, while chip-equipment makers rose after strong earnings from U.S. peer Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) .
The benchmark Nikkei (.N225: Quote, Profile, Research) put on 0.72 percent or 76.99 points to end at 10,753.80, rebounding from a 0.23 percent fall the previous day.
Earlier in the day it had hit a two-week high of 10,813.06.
The broader TOPIX index (.TOPX: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 0.62 percent to 1,059.51.
"We had strong GDP yesterday and a big IPO today but basically the weaker yen was the biggest factor in the market, and after that it was how high-techs performed in the U.S.," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities.
"It's a bit of a sad fact of life, but the Tokyo market is all about the yen and that's where the focus is going to be for the time being," he said.
The dollar climbed more than one percent overnight to 106.84 yen (JPY=: Quote, Profile, Research) , and currency dealers said suspicions were growing that the dollar's two-year downtrend may have run its course.
But with domestic demand issues having hogged the market limelight for much of the past month, investors said the question of how long high-tech stocks would shine was key.
"Chip-related issues are nearing their peak, and while I think tech stocks still have some upward momentum, they are not going to keep on going up and up," said Shigeki Ubukata, a fund manager at Mitsui Sumitomo Asset Management.
One notable gainer was blue-chip electronics component maker Kyocera Corp (6971.T: Quote, Profile, Research) , up 4.28 percent at 7,800 yen after several analysts said they were impressed by an explanatory meeting the company held on its business strategy on Wednesday.
NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T: Quote, Profile, Research) advanced for a second straight session, rising 4.44 percent to 235,000 yen and up 7.31 percent since Tuesday, when it said it expected to pocket $6.5 billion by selling its shares in AT&T Wireless Services (AWE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) when it is taken over.
Some analysts have raised the possibility that DoCoMo will increase dividends or buy back shares with the cash.
Shinsei, the most active stock in terms of volume and value, was first traded at 872 yen in mid-afternoon, a 66 percent premium to its IPO price of 525 yen. It had been untraded throughout the morning as buy orders overwhelmed sell orders.
Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research) eased 0.36 percent to 827,000 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T: Quote, Profile, Research) edged down 0.85 percent to 586,000 -- moves which traders attributed to funds flowing into the banks' rejuvenated cousin.
Elsewhere in the market, Japanese trading house Tomen Corp (8003.T: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped 7.89 percent to 164 yen after Iran signed a deal with Japan on Wednesday for a $2 billion oilfield project in which it is a participant.
Among the stocks that lost ground, Lawson Inc (2651.T: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 2.37 percent at 3,710 yen after UBS trimmed its target price on the convenience store operator and said it may miss its full-year earnings target.
Decliners outnumbered advancers 750 to 620 and volume perked up slightly from the previous day, with 1.20 billion shares changing hands on the first section.
Shinsei, the first bank in Japan to be nationalised, sold to a private equity fund and then floated on the market, closed at 827 yen, 58 percent over its initial public offering (IPO) price.
But while some of Japan's megabanks eased in response to the wildly popular IPO, market participants said concerns that Shinsei's debut would suck funds from other market sectors had proved unwarranted.
The weaker yen helped electronics giant Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) gain over three percent, while chip-equipment makers rose after strong earnings from U.S. peer Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) .
The benchmark Nikkei (.N225: Quote, Profile, Research) put on 0.72 percent or 76.99 points to end at 10,753.80, rebounding from a 0.23 percent fall the previous day.
Earlier in the day it had hit a two-week high of 10,813.06.
The broader TOPIX index (.TOPX: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 0.62 percent to 1,059.51.
"We had strong GDP yesterday and a big IPO today but basically the weaker yen was the biggest factor in the market, and after that it was how high-techs performed in the U.S.," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities.
"It's a bit of a sad fact of life, but the Tokyo market is all about the yen and that's where the focus is going to be for the time being," he said.
The dollar climbed more than one percent overnight to 106.84 yen (JPY=: Quote, Profile, Research) , and currency dealers said suspicions were growing that the dollar's two-year downtrend may have run its course.
But with domestic demand issues having hogged the market limelight for much of the past month, investors said the question of how long high-tech stocks would shine was key.
"Chip-related issues are nearing their peak, and while I think tech stocks still have some upward momentum, they are not going to keep on going up and up," said Shigeki Ubukata, a fund manager at Mitsui Sumitomo Asset Management.
One notable gainer was blue-chip electronics component maker Kyocera Corp (6971.T: Quote, Profile, Research) , up 4.28 percent at 7,800 yen after several analysts said they were impressed by an explanatory meeting the company held on its business strategy on Wednesday.
NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T: Quote, Profile, Research) advanced for a second straight session, rising 4.44 percent to 235,000 yen and up 7.31 percent since Tuesday, when it said it expected to pocket $6.5 billion by selling its shares in AT&T Wireless Services (AWE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) when it is taken over.
Some analysts have raised the possibility that DoCoMo will increase dividends or buy back shares with the cash.
Shinsei, the most active stock in terms of volume and value, was first traded at 872 yen in mid-afternoon, a 66 percent premium to its IPO price of 525 yen. It had been untraded throughout the morning as buy orders overwhelmed sell orders.
Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research) eased 0.36 percent to 827,000 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T: Quote, Profile, Research) edged down 0.85 percent to 586,000 -- moves which traders attributed to funds flowing into the banks' rejuvenated cousin.
Elsewhere in the market, Japanese trading house Tomen Corp (8003.T: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped 7.89 percent to 164 yen after Iran signed a deal with Japan on Wednesday for a $2 billion oilfield project in which it is a participant.
Among the stocks that lost ground, Lawson Inc (2651.T: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 2.37 percent at 3,710 yen after UBS trimmed its target price on the convenience store operator and said it may miss its full-year earnings target.
Decliners outnumbered advancers 750 to 620 and volume perked up slightly from the previous day, with 1.20 billion shares changing hands on the first section.
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