Nikkei jumps 1.6% as Dow hits all-time high on Biden transition

TOKYO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Japan shares rose on Wednesday,
taking positive cues from Wall Street as Dow Jones benchmark
scaled a record high overnight, with investor sentiment lifted
by vaccine optimism and fading U.S. election uncertainty.
The Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.59% to 26,581.98,
having closed at a 29-1/2-year high on Tuesday.
"The overall market is rising today, and cyclical shares are
being bought," said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex
Securities.
The Dow Jones .DJI broke past 30,000 for the first time
and the S&P 500 also closed at a record high as investors
anticipated a swift economic recovery on coronavirus vaccine
progress and President-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White
House. /N
The broader Topix .TOPX added 1.15% to 1,782.72, extending
gains from a more than two-year high marked in the previous
session.
All but four of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
exchange traded higher.
Highly cyclical shippers .ISHIP.T , miners .IMING.T iron
and steel .ISTEL.T led gains on the main bourse.
Shares of semiconductor-related companies advanced, taking
positive cues from its U.S. peers. Shin-Etsu Chemical 4063.T
climbed 3.39%, Advantest 6857.T added 0.83%, while Tokyo
Electron 8035.T inched up around 0.7%.
Elsewhere, Nissan Motor 7201.T jumped 6.78%, boosted by a
combination of short-covering and hopes on shift to electric
vehicles after the company said its redesigned compact car would
feature hybrid technology system. But land transport .IRAIL.T sector erased early gains to
trade 0.36% lower after local media reported on Wednesday that
Tokyo will urge bars and restaurants to operate shortened hours
following a surge in coronavirus infections. Tokyo's call comes after the Japanese government on Tuesday
paused its domestic travel promotion campaign in the cities of
Sapporo and Osaka. The Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firm shares bucked the
overall firmness and lost 1.8%.