TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average surged 3.5% on Tuesday, with tech shares leading the rally as sentiment got a boost from a weaker yen as traders returned after a public holiday.

The Nikkei ended the day at the session’s peak of 36,232.51, trading higher in the last 40 minutes of trading. It spent much of the day flitting back and forth across the psychological 36,000 level, a level it hadn’t breached since Aug. 2.

The broader Topix climbed 2.8%.

Chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron led Nikkei gainers by index points with a 6.2% rally. Chip-testing machine manufacturer Advantest was next, advancing 7.7%.

Major exporters Sony Group and Toyota Motor rose 5% and 3.3%, respectively. A weaker yen inflates the value of overseas sales when repatriated.

The Japanese currency declined about 0.3% to 147.64 per dollar as of 0600 GMT, extending a 0.4% slide from overnight.

Japanese equity markets were closed on Monday for the Obon holiday.

The yen had strengthened as far as 141.675 per dollar on Aug. 5 for the first time since the start of this year after surprisingly soft US monthly payrolls figures ignited fears of a recession. The Nikkei had slumped to as low as 31,156.12 on that same day for the first time in almost nine months.