TOKYO, July 12 (Reuters) – Japanese shares rebounded on Monday, led by cyclical stocks on renewed hopes of a swift global economic recovery, while industry bellwether Yaskawa Electric jumped after raising its annual profit forecast.
The Nikkei share average climbed 2.25% to close at 28,569.02, while the broader Topix advanced 2.14% 1,953.33.
Both the indexes gained the most in three weeks, bouncing back after three straight sessions of falls to a near eight-week low on Friday.
Japanese equities tracked Wall Street’s strong finish on Friday. The three major U.S. stock indexes rallied to record closing highs at the end of last week, led by financials and other economically focused sectors.
The U.S. market was led higher on Friday by economically sensitive value stocks and that worked favourably for the Japanese market, which has many value shares linked to the global economy, said Kentaro Hayashi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
“And Yaskawa Electric’s strong earnings and an upward revision of outlook have given a positive surprise to the market,” he said.
Shares of Yaskawa Electric, a robot maker seen as a leading indicator on Japanese manufacturers’ earnings trend, jumped 6.47% after the company raised its annual operating profit forecast by 29%. Peer Fanuc climbed 6.6%.
Makers of industrial machinery, housing instruments and electric machineries led the rebound after Japan’s machinery orders rose for a third straight month in May.
Fanuc was the top gainer on the Nikkei, followed by Yaskawa and materials maker Showa Denko, which rose 5.66%.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha was the worst performer on the index with a drop of 2.74%, followed by Eisai, which lost 1.54%, and Nippon Yusen, down 1.31 %. ($1 = 110.1400 yen) (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
