Tokyo stocks rebounded Thursday as banks and technology firms rallied on optimism that the global economy is getting stronger. Financial shares got a lift after the Federal Reserve gave the green light to plans by all 34 large US lenders seeking to provide big payouts to shareholders after the firms passed annual stress tests.
Fed boss Janet Yellen has also said its shift to tighter monetary policy is on track while other central bank chiefs signalled similar moves were in view. Rises in long-term US bond yields "will be positive for insurers that invest in foreign bonds, and megabanks that make overseas loans", said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Nomura Holdings.
Technology firms were also gainers. "Even if the rise in interest rates adds to volatility, the increase in data communication will keep adding to US technology companies' earnings, which will in turn support Japanese technology firms that supply the hardware," Wako told Bloomberg News.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.45 percent, or 89.89 points, to 20,220.30 while the Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.60 percent, or 9.70 points, to 1,624.07. Banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial jumped 1.07 percent to 755.2 yen, while rivals Mizuho Financial rose 0.83 percent to 205.7 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui climbed 1.20 percent to 4,366 yen.
Sony rose 0.85 percent to 4,365 yen and SoftBank was up 0.64 percent to close at 9,252 yen. Nintendo jumped 2.40 percent to 38,780 yen on hopes for its game console sales. Toshiba dropped 3.68 percent to 277 yen after it said it has yet to clinch a deal to sell a prized memory chip unit, which is seen as key for the troubled conglomerate's survival.
The cash-strapped company is in talks with a consortium of US, South Korean and state-backed Japanese investors, while it is suing manufacturing partner Western Digital, which is trying to block the reported $18 billion chip unit sale. The dollar was holding firm at 112.26 yen against 112.32 yen in New York.