Japanese shares extend gains on recovery hopes, upbeat earnings

TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Japanese shares extended gains to
hit a fresh 30-year high on Tuesday as strong corporate earnings
and progress in vaccine rollouts fuelled expectations for a
quick normalisation of the global economy.
The Nikkei share average .N225 edged up 0.31% to 29,478.32
by 0147 GMT, while the broader Topix index .TOPX was 0.01%
higher at 1924.29. Both indexes were set to gain for a third
session running.
"Market participants have shifted their targets to shares
that would benefit in the post-coronavirus era from those driven
by the pandemic," said Hideyuki Suzuki, general manager of
investment research at SBI Securities.
"The number of daily infection cases has been falling
globally and vaccine distribution has started in countries which
were hit the hardest. That's what the market is looking at now."
Wall Street reached all-time closing highs overnight, buoyed
by prospects for increased stimulus and an accelerated vaccine
rollout. .N
In Japan, SoftBank Group 9984.T rose more than 5% to hit a
two-decade high earlier in the session, after its Vision Fund
unit reported record profits as portfolio company listings
accelerated. The airline sector gained, with Japan Airlines 9201.T and
ANA Holdings 9202.T rising 3.55% and 1.7%, respectively.
Isuzu Motor 7202.T rose 2.09% after the automaker raised
its annual profit forecast, while Nissan Motor 7201.T gained
1.0%.
Monex Group 8698.T , owner of bitcoin exchange operator
Coincheck, surged 11.08% as bitcoin jumped after Tesla Inc
TSLA.O revealed it had bought $1.5 billion of the
cryptocurrency and would soon accept it as a form of payment for
cars. Leading gains on Nikkei, SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T rose
3.96%, Inpex Corp 1605.T gained 3.15% and Nomura Holdings Inc
8604.T jumped 3.09%.
The biggest percentage decliners were Bandai Namco Holdings
Inc 7832.T , down 7.07%, Taiyo Yuden 6976.T , which lost
6.47%, and Mazda Motor 7261.T , down by 5.49%.