Japan's Nikkei rallies on Wall Street gains, softer yen; SoftBank jumps

J. FRONT RETAILING

27/12/2023 06:33

(Updates with closing prices)
    By Kevin Buckland
       TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
rallied broadly on Wednesday, as a softer yen buoyed exporter
shares and chip stocks tracked advances in U.S. peers overnight.
    Tech investor SoftBank Group  9984.T  jumped 4.23% after
exercising an option to receive shares in telco T-Mobile US
 TMUS.O  worth some $7.59 billion for no additional cost.
    The Nikkei  .N225  finished the day up 1.13% at 33,681.24,
with 212 of its 225 components rising, versus just 12 that fell
and one that was flat. It had earlier risen as high as 33,755.75
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  added 1.13%. 
    "Up around 33,700, the Nikkei is likely to start feeling top
heavy," said Nomura Securities strategist Maki Sawada, pointing
also to thin trading conditions due to the holidays that could
exacerbate price swings.
    Every one of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry groups
rose on Wednesday, led by shippers  .ISHIP.T , which surged
4.25%.
    The yen eased slightly to as weak as 142.83 per dollar
 JPY=EBS  during the session, improving the outlook for
exporters' overseas profits. 
    Nintendo  7974.T  advanced 1.99% and Sony  6758.T  added
1.44%.
    Toyota  7203.T  gained 1.65%, getting some extra momentum
after announcing that global production hit a record high last
month.
    Chip-related shares climbed after the Philadelphia SE
Semiconductor Index  .SOX  rallied 1.8% overnight. Tokyo
Electron  8035.T  rose 1.26% and Advantest  6857.T  gained
1.72%.
    At the other end, retailers continued recent weakness.
Department store operator J.Front Retailing  3086.T  was the
Nikkei's biggest percentage decliner with a 2.41% slide, despite
posting earnings after the bell on Tuesday that Nomura analyst
Hisahiro Yamaoka termed a "solid performance" with "no major
surprises".
    Peer Takashimaya  8233.T  slumped 0.52%.

 (Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((Kevin.Buckland@thomsonreuters.com;))