Nikkei edges up as investors hunt for value shares

TOKYO, March 3 (Reuters) - Japanese shares eked out gains on
Wednesday as investors picked up cyclical stocks on hopes of a
quicker economic recovery from the pandemic-led recession.
However, gains were capped by worries about bond market
volatility and talk of huge selling for rebalancing this month.
The Nikkei average .N225 ticked up 0.18% to 29,459.71,
with its 25-day moving average at 29,273 providing a support for
now. The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.15% to 1,897.64.
Investors bought cyclical shares with cheap valuation, such
as steelmakers, automakers and trading houses.
Nippon Steel 5401.T rose 4.1%, while Nissan Motor 7201.T
rose 2.8%. Trading house Marubeni 8002.T rose 3.3%.
Topix Value Index .TOPXV rose 0.77% as growth-oriented
shares .TOPXG lost 0.48%, led by declines in high-flying
momentum shares as well as chip-related stocks, in a sign of
investor caution against their lofty valuation.
Electric-motor maker Nidec 6594.T fell 3.1% while medical
portal operator M3 2413.T lost 2.1%. Chip-making machine maker
Tokyo Electron 8035.T shed 1.8%.
As the Topix has risen about 35% so far in the current
Japanese financial year ending on March 31, market players are
getting wary the country's pension funds could sell a large
amount of shares for rebalancing by the financial year-end.
Many investors are still not sure whether a sell-off in
global bonds, which hit the market in recent weeks, is over,
despite signs of some stability in the last few sessions.
"The market is looking to a speech by Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday. Friday's U.S. payroll data
could rekindle talk of a Fed rate hike if it is strong," said
Takuya Hozumi, global investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ
Morgan Stanley Securities.
Elsewhere, publicly-traded shares in the Bank of Japan
8301.T rose by daily limit for three days in a row.
The BOJ shares are not electronically settled, however, and
investors need to file paper documents to the central bank when
they own the securities.