TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Wednesday, as tech stocks tracked their U.S. peers higher and renewed hopes of a China stimulus helped lift the mood.
Shares of 7-Eleven owner and takeover target Seven & i Holdings jumped following a media report of a sweetened bid.
The Nikkei climbed 0.87% to end the day at 39,277.96 points, with the chip sector and other high-tech names making up four of the top five points gainers.
The broader Topix added 0.3%, with a sub-index of growth shares gaining 0.85% while value shares dropped 0.23%.
Japanese shares started the day on an upbeat note but momentum ebbed over the course of trading, until they received a boost midway through the afternoon session as Beijing announced the finance ministry would detail plans for fiscal stimulus on Saturday.
Seven & i, which is fending off an approach from Circle K-owner Alimentation Couche-Tard, jumped as much as 11.77% after Bloomberg reported the Canadian retailer was preparing to raise its offer to about $47 billion. It finished the day 4.71% higher.
Seven & i confirmed it had received a revised offer after the close of trade.
Japanese retailers are reporting earnings this week, with both Seven & i and Uniqlo-owner Fast Retailing due to announce their results after the closing bell on Thursday.
Fast Retailing, which rose 1.14%, was the Nikkei's second-biggest points gainer on Wednesday mainly due to its extremely heavy weighting in the index.
Nvidia supplier Advantest took the top spot, rallying 3.65%.
Also in the top five gainers were chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron, staffing technology business Recruit Holdings and AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group, which rose 1.22%, 2.68% and 1.34%, respectively.
Nikkei winners and losers were nearly evenly split on Wednesday, with 110 of the index's 225 components rising versus 115 that fell.
Energy companies led declines amid a retreat in crude oil prices. Refiner Inpex was the Nikkei's bottom performer with a 3.04% slide, while peer Idemitsu Kosan lost 2.58%.
Nomura raised its year-end forecast for the Nikkei to 40,000 from 38,000 on Tuesday, based on solid corporate earnings, abundant cash and deposits, and governance reforms, according to a report by analysts Tomochika Kitaoka and Naoya Fuji.
The Bank of Japan's policy normalisation won't have "a major negative impact, so long as they are commensurate with Japan's move out of deflation", they said. - Reuters
