Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday in heavy trade, buoyed by gains on Wall Street and a strong debut by three Japan Post shares, which surged as investors rushed to get a piece of the group's $12 billion initial public offering. Rallies in China shares also helped sentiment after President Xi Jinping made comments on its economy and the government unveiled the proposal of its 13th five-year plan.
The Nikkei share average gained 1.3 percent to 18,926.91 points. Group parent company Japan Post Holdings Co closed at 1,760 yen, 20 percent higher than the initial public offering price of 1,400 yen. Japan Post Bank Co shares closed at 1,671 yen, up 15 percent from an IPO price of 1,450 yen and Japan Post Insurance Co was at 3,430 yen, 56 percent above its 2,200 yen IPO price.
Still, markets remained firmly fixed on Friday's US non-farm payrolls report and whether the data will support the case for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in December. "Several events came at the right timing," said Yoshihiro Okumura, an analyst at Chibagin Asset Management. "The IPO came as US stocks rallied and China shares also advanced. Cyclical shares are being bought as investors became risk takers."
Exporters rose, with Honda Motor Co gaining 1.9 percent and Advantest Corp rising 1.8 percent. Japan's insurance sector added 3.4 percent, lifted by Japan Post as well as Dai-ichi Life Insurance and T&D Holdings Inc, which gained 4.1 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Nissan Motor Co Ltd jumped 2.6 percent after the automaker raised its operating profit outlook for the year. Takata Corp tumbled 13 percent after the top US auto safety regulator fined the air-bag supplier $70 million and ordered it to stop making inflators that use ammonium nitrate. The broader Topix rose 0.9 percent to 1,540.43, with 2.695 billion shares changing hands. The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 added 1.0 percent to 13,838.52.