Japanese shares rise amid stock rotation ahead of financial year-end

By Stanley White
TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rose on Tuesday
as investors sold technology stocks and shifted some of those
funds to consumer goods companies expected to benefit from an
economic recovery from the pandemic.
The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 climbed 0.20% to 28,805.46 by
0206 GMT. The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.66% to 1,906.20.
Technology and energy stocks fell as some investors booked
profits before the fiscal year ends on March 31.
On the positive side, consumer cyclicals and real estate
shares rose because they are closely tied to the domestic
economy, which is expected to pick up as the year progresses.
However, the broader market may lack direction in the coming
weeks after rallying to a more than 30-year high last month,
which some investors said was a sign of excessive froth.
"There is some selling in the IT sector, but at the same
time investors are willing to buy the dip for value shares that
are linked to the domestic economy," said Ayako Sera, a market
strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
"You can tell that investors are planning for life after the
coronavirus pandemic, but the market is likely to consolidate
around current levels."
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were Astellas Pharma Inc 4503.T , up 3.36%, followed by
Honda Motor Co Ltd 7267.T , gaining 3.46%.
Many exporters got a boost after the yen JPY=D3 fell to a
nine-month low against the dollar. A weaker yen inflates
exporters' earnings when repatriated from overseas.
The underperformers among the Topix 30 were Nidec Corp
6594.T , down 4.59%, followed by Nintendo Co Ltd 7974.T ,
losing 2.91%.
There were 156 advancers on the Nikkei index against 69
decliners.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.74 billion, compared to the average of
1.38 billion in the past 30 days.