Japanese shares end higher as cyclicals jump, tech weakness caps gains

TOKYO, March 25 (Reuters) - Japanese shares closed higher on
Thursday as investors scooped up beaten-down cyclical stocks,
although gains were capped by technology shares that tracked
Nasdaq lower.
The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 ended 1.14% higher at
28,729.88, ending a four-day losing streak, while the broader
Topix .TOPX jumped 1.4% to close at 1,955.55 after falling in
three straight sessions.
"There were a lot of pessimistic news that prompted
investors to sell cyclical shares (yesterday). They are buying
back those today," Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the
investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.
Nikkei heavyweight Fast Retailing 9983.T , the operator of
Uniqlo brand clothing store, led the gains on Nikkei with its
1.39% gain.
Banking stocks jumped, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
8306.T rising 2.48% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
8316.T climbing 2.6%. Mizuho Financial Group 8411.T gained
2.01%.
Toyota Motor 7203.T edged up 0.43% after the automaker
revived a partnership with Isuzu Motor 7202.T to boost their
competitive edge in connected, commercial vehicles, with
Toyota's truck unit Hino Motors Ltd 7205.T joining in the
pact.
Isuzu fell 1.94%, while Hino slumped 5.19% following a surge
on the news on Wednesday, making it the biggest loser on the
Nikkei index.
Chip-related shares fell, with Advantest 6857.T losing
1.89% and Tokyo Electron 8035.T sliding 1.49%. They tracked a
weak show by the Nasdaq overnight. .N
Tech investor SoftBank Group 9984.T , down 2.84%, was the
second biggest loser on the Nikkei.
All the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded
higher, led by the sea transport industry.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were Fanuc 6954.T , up 4.01%, followed by Recruit
Holdings 6098.T , rising 3.68%.
The underperformers among the Topix 30 were SoftBank Group,
followed by Nintendo 7974.T losing 1.31%.
There were 207 advancers on the Nikkei index against 17
decliners.