TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed higher Wednesday, reversing early losses on bargain hunting and as the yen retreated from a rally against the dollar.
The market got off to a weak start after US President-elect Donald Trump's comment that the dollar was too strong lifted the yen.
But the currency's rally proved was short-lived.
"Attempts to buy on dips helped (the Nikkei 225) reclaim a level above 18,900," said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities.
"The dollar-yen rates also came back to the 113 yen range, encouraging buying," he said in a commentary.
The benchmark Nikkei gained 0.43 percent, or 80.84 points, to end the day at 18,894.37, while the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.32 percent, or 4.76 points, to 1,513.86.
The dollar was trading at 113.25 yen Wednesday afternoon, rebounding from below 113 yen earlier in the day.
A weaker yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes their products more competitive abroad and inflates the value of their repatriated profits.
Investors were cautious ahead of Trump's Friday inauguration, as questions swirl about his policies.
"Trump has made a lot of announcements but people are waiting for that to translate into implementation and some policy around that," Paul Harris, a fund manager at Avenue Investment Management, told Bloomberg TV.
"This is the time when you might have some slight volatility."
Toyota closed 0.25 percent higher at 6,736 yen while Sony fell 0.57 percent to 3,484.
Market heavyweight Fast Retailing, the operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain, rose 1.25 percent to 37,230 yen.
Bank shares fell. Mitsubishi UFJ dropped 0.46 percent to 711.5 yen and Mizuho lost 0.48 percent to end the session at 207.3 yen.
Toshiba rose 2.37 percent to 288.4 yen after reports that the troubled conglomerate was considering spinning off its semiconductor business into a new firm and seeking an investment from US-based Western Digital, the world's largest maker of hard disks.
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