Tokyo stocks rebounded on Tuesday as the yen lost ground and the Bank of Japan upgraded its view of the world's number-three economy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which snapped a nine-day winning streak the previous day, rose 0.53 percent, or 102.93 points, to close at 19,494.53. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.21 percent, or 3.30 points, to 1,552.36.
Japanese equities started the day in the red, but they bounced back in afternoon trade as the Bank of Japan's decision led to a weakening of the yen - a plus for Japanese shares. In forex trading, the dollar rose to 117.78 yen, up from 117.18 in New York but still down from levels above 118 yen seen at the end of last week. "The winning streak stopped yesterday, but the current buying sentiment remains strong," said Hikaru Sato, senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities.
"The trend is likely to continue for now as the market is seeing ups and downs day by day." Japan's central bank said it would maintain its loose monetary policy, as expected, and added that the economy was "likely to turn to a moderate expansion". It also noted exports and industrial production were gathering steam, after saying they were "sluggish" in a November statement.
It was the first time the bank has upgraded its assessment of the economy in more than a year. In share trading, Canon rose 0.43 percent to 3,432 yen, while Sony slipped 0.56 percent at 3,362 yen. Financial shares were off, with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ falling 1.39 percent to 749 yen.
SoftBank jumped 1.91 percent to 7,972 yen after it announced $1.2 billion in funding for a US space firm. The Japanese company has made a pledge to US President-elect Donald Trump to invest $50 billion in the US economy. Nintendo rebounded 1.12 percent to 24,815 yen after tumbling seven percent Monday as gamers - and investors - were left underwhelmed by its latest mobile game, Super Mario Run. Toshiba fell 1.06 percent to 458.2 yen as the Tokyo Stock Exchange decided to keep the firm on its watch list after a major accounting scandal that damaged the reputation of one of Japan's best-known companies.