TOKYO, March 1 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rebounded on
Monday from the biggest day's fall in almost a year in the
previous session, led by chip and electronics shares, as a pause
in the rise in the U.S. bond yields boosted the tech-heavy
Nasdaq index.
The Nikkei share average .N225 added 2.31% to 29,635.31 by
0158 GMT, while the broader Topix .TOPX jumped 1.63% to
1,894.94.
"The Nikkei will reclaim the 30,000 level sooner or later
depending on how the U.S. bond yields will perform," said
Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS
Asset Management.
"In the first place, the yields rose on expectations for an
economic rebound, which is not a bad news for the stock market."
Yields on U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=TWEB came off to
1.40%, from last week's peak of 1.61%. MKTS/GLOB .
The fall in the yields boosted the Nasdaq index by 0.56% on
Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
1.5%, and the S&P 500 .SPX edged down 0.48.
Chip related shares jumped in Japan, with Tokyo Electron
8035.T rising 3.28%, Advantest 6857.T adding 4.8% and Screen
Holdings 7735.T jumping 4.7%.
Index heavy weight SoftBank Group 9984.T , up 5.31%, was
the biggest contributor to the Nikkei's gain, followed by Uniqlo
clothing store operator Fast Retailing 9983.T , which jumped
2.43%.
Itochu 8001.T jumped 2.59% after Warren Buffet's Berkshire
Hathaway disclosed a holding of a 5.1% stake in the trading
house as of Dec. 31. The largest percentage gainers in the Nikkei index were NTT
Data Corp 9613.T , rising 5.97%, followed by Trend Micro
4704.T gaining 5.47 % and SoftBank Group.
The largest percentage losses in the index were Sharp
6753.T , losing 3.38 %, followed by Mitsui OSK Lines 9104.T
with a 2.08% decline and J.Front Retailing 3086.T falling
1.57 %.
There were 173 advancers on the Nikkei index against 46
decliners