By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei reached a six-week
high on Tuesday, with a weaker yen lifting exporters and a
bounce in bond yields buoying financial companies.
At 0107 GMT the Nikkei share average .N225 was up 0.42% at
21,408.44 points, after touching 21,438.35, its highest since
Aug. 1.
There were 166 advancers on the Nikkei index against 56
decliners.
Shares of exporting automakers rose as the yen slipped to
its lowest level since early August against the dollar.
Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T added 1%, Honda Motor Co 7267.T
climbed 1.6% and Subaru 7270.T gained 0.9%.
Nissan Motor Co 7201.T advanced 3.5%, outperforming its
peers after news that company CEO Hiroto Saikawa will resign,
bowing to pressure after he admitted to being improperly
overpaid. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T gained 3.5%, Mizuho
Financial Group 8411.T rose 2.6% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial
Group 8316.T climbed 2.7% thanks to a rebound in bond yields,
which are expected to reinforce banks' profitability.
Yields of major government bonds pulled back sharply from
recent lows as risk appetite improved and lessened investor
demand for safe-haven debt.
The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.4% to 1,557.76.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core names
in Topix were Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, followed by
SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T , which rose 2.7%.
The worst performers in the Topix 30 were Mitsubishi Estate
Co 8802.T , which fell 1.5%, followed by Central Japan Railway
Co's 9022.T loss of 1.4%.
(Editing by Kim Coghill)