Japanese shares rose on Wednesday as a Wall Street rally and weaker yen boosted investor sentiment, although worries over the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak capped gains. The benchmark Nikkei average rose 1% to 23,319.56, while the broader Topix also added 1% to 1,701.83. All but one of the 33 sector subindexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange were in positive territory, led by fish and forest, insurance and mining.

Sharp Corp climbed 1.2% after the electronics company reported a 38.5% increase in third-quarter operating profit due to gains at its smart appliance division and cost-reduction efforts.

Panasonic Corp continued its advance, with the shares ending the morning session up 4.4%, two days after the electronics conglomerate said its automotive battery venture with Tesla Inc was in the black for the first time.