TOKYO: Japanese shares rose on Wednesday, with automakers leading the rally after a positive report, however caution ahead of the US monthly non-farm payrolls numbers due this week capped gains.

The Nikkei share average rose 0.71% to 27,472.49 by the midday break, while the broader Topic advanced 1.30% to 1,937.61, “For the Nikkei to cross its most recent high on April 21, we need to see some catalysts that would ease investor sentiment,” said a strategist at a domestic brokerage, adding that Wall Street’s gain would also be needed.

The three major US stock indexes closed lower overnight, as volatile oil markets kept soaring inflation in focus and investors reacted to hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official.

Toyota Motor gained 3.56%, Nissan Motor climbed 5.83% and Honda Motor advanced 3.14%, after J.P. Morgan analysts said Japanese auto companies are likely to post record profits this year.

Auto and parts sector rose 3.33% and was the top performer on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sub-indexes.

Tokyo stocks open lower with eyes on China data

Mercari jumped 8.27% after the fleamarket app operator announced it will trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s prime trading board from Tuesday.

Drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo fell 3.74% and was the worst performer on the Nikkei, followed by oil explorer Inpex, which fell 3.28%.

There were 200 advancers on the Nikkei index, against 24 decliners.

The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main board was 0.63 billion, compared to the average of 1.31 billion in the past 30 days.