Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index rose for the third straight session to a fresh 27-year high on Tuesday on a cheap yen and advances on Wall Street. The key Nikkei 225 index, which had finished at its best level since November 1991 on Monday, added another 0.10 percent, or 24.86 points, to 24,270.62 while the broader Topix index gained 0.33 percent, or 6.07 points, to 1,824.03.
Japanese stocks took a positive lead from New York where the Dow and S&P both notched gains on news of a historic trade deal between Canada and the United States. Shares also benefited from a weak yen, which is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes their products more competitive in overseas markets and also inflates profits when repatriated.
The dollar was at 113.76 yen, slightly lower from New York on Monday but sharply higher than the 112-yen range seen a week earlier. However dealers said investors cashed in on the recent surge, limiting Tuesday's gain in stocks. "The market is in a state of overheating," said Shinichi Yamamoto, broker at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.
"We need a cool-down period before trying a further gain," Yamamoto told AFP. In individual stocks trade, Ono Pharmaceutical soared 3.05 percent to 3,308 yen after the Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to researchers for a cancer-fighting method used in Opdivo, a drug it co-developed with a US pharmaceutical maker.
Panasonic, which supplies battery cells to electric carmaker Tesla, jumped 2.69 percent to 1,371.5 yen after the US company surged on an agreement with regulators that leaves Elon Musk in place as chief executive. Energy companies also rose on spikes in oil prices, with Japan Petroleum Exploration up 1.02 percent at 2,661 yen.