Japan shares end firmer ahead of election results; SoftBank jumps

TOKYO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended higher on
Monday as investors awaited election results for the country's
ruling party to choose a successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,
while SoftBank Group 9984.T jumped on Nvidia Corp 's NVDA.O
$40 billion deal.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 closed 0.74%
higher at 23,579.48, while the broader Topix .TOPX gained
0.93% to 1,651.91, hitting the highest level since Feb. 21.
"The market is strong today. There is an anticipation of
higher prices," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, senior strategist at
Daiwa Securities, adding that investors' buying appetite helped
offset selling pressure.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is poised to
become head of Japan's ruling party on Monday and prime minister
on Wednesday, succeeding Abe, the nation's longest-serving
leader. As Suga, a long-time loyal aide to Abe, has vowed to
continue his policies, few market players expect radical
changes.
However, analysts said investors might chase the market
higher on hopes of a further rise in stock prices after the
election results.
SoftBank Group jumped 8.96% to mark its biggest daily gain
since March 25, after the company said it agreed to sell chip
designer Arm to Nvidia Corp for as much as $40 billion in a deal
set to reshape the semiconductor landscape.
Executives of the tech conglomerate have also held
early-stage talks about taking the company private as it seeks a
new strategy after disposing of several large assets, a person
familiar with the matter told Reuters. Also supporting market sentiment were gains in U.S. stock
futures during the Asian trade, in addition to COVID-19 vaccine
hopes after AstraZeneca resumed its trials. Paper and pulp .IPAPR.T led the sectoral gainers on the
main bourse, up 2.38%, with Pack Corp 3950.T climbing 3.66%
and Nippon Paper Industries 3863.T rising 1.64%.
Telecommunication companies were hit after Suga said on
Friday he wanted to cut cell phone charges by around 40%.
SoftBank Corp 9434.T dropped 5.01%, while NTT Docomo
9437.T and KDDI Corp 9433.T dropped 2.73% and 3.05%,
respectively.