Tokyo shares close up on high-tech gains

Tokyo shares closed higher on Tuesday as investors bought on dips in the high-tech sector after the US Nasdaq powered to another record.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.73 per cent, or 166.74 points, to 22,884.22 while the broader Topix index was up 0.36 per cent, or 5.71 points, at 1,582.74.

"High-tech shares led today's gains" after Amazon and Microsoft drove the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index to another record close, said Shinichi Yamamoto, a broker at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.

"The Nasdaq gain prompted investors to buy back Japanese high-tech shares which declined recently," Yamamoto told AFP.

But trading was sluggish as many investors refrained from making major moves ahead of a four-day weekend in Japan, brokers said.

The dollar stood at 107.35 yen in Asian afternoon trade, compared with 107.30 yen on Monday in New York. 

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Investors welcomed an EU accord on a landmark stimulus package to fight the aftershocks of the coronavirus outbreak, "but the direct impact of the deal on Japanese shares was limited," Yamamoto said.

Ahead of the opening bell, the government said Japan's core consumer prices remained flat in June from a year ago, providing a further piece of evidence for Tokyo's prolonged struggle to boost prices to achieve two-percent inflation and foster stable growth.

Among major shares, tech investor SoftBank Group surged 3.06 percent to 6,464 yen as Tokyo Electron, a major producer of equipment for making semiconductors, jumped 2.33 percent to 29,800 yen.

Sony added 1.57 percent to 8,379 yen, while Nintendo gained 1.80 percent to 47,870 yen.

Drug maker Shionogi rallied 2.84 percent to 6,438 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported that it was expanding its capacity to produce vaccines, as the company continues the development of a coronavirus vaccine.