Tokyo shares close up with eyes on earnings

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index closed higher on Wednesday as investors snapped up shares with strong corporate earnings while watching the impact of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.53 percent, or 147.17 points, to 27,741.90, while the broader Topix index rose 0.27 percent, or 5.28 points, to 1,930.77.

The dollar stood at 133.26 yen, compared with 133.10 yen on Tuesday in New York.

Throughout the day investors bought a broad range of shares, analysts said, helping a rebound from a drop of more than one percent Tuesday.

Wall Street stocks fell, though the Nasdaq index was the best performer, reflecting some support for tech firms, Okasan Online Securities said.

"Risk-averse selling didn't reach Tokyo," the brokerage said.

Instead, rebounding US Treasury yields boosted the dollar and drove down the yen, encouraging investors to pick up Japanese exporters.

"Meaningful gains for the dollar and falls of the yen gave tailwinds to exporters," Okasan said.

Market players were also watching US-China relations.

"As for US House Speaker Pelosi's trip to Taiwan, that has seemed to proceed without too much geopolitical angst," said Tapas Strickland of National Australia Bank.

Still, Pelosi's visit could trigger "geopolitical risk" for the market, Daiwa Securities said, adding that "Japanese blue-chip shares remained top heavy".

SoftBank Group rose 0.84 percent to 5,496 yen and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing jumped 1.50 percent to 81,810 yen.

Advantest, which makes testing kits for semiconductors, added 1.36 percent to 8,170 yen. Toyota affiliate Hino Motors trimmed losses and ended down 0.47 percent at 655 yen.

The truck-maker said Tuesday that an engine data falsification scandal had started as far back as 2003, not 2016 as previously stated. Hino's share price dropped nearly 10 percent on Tuesday.

Toyota hovered in a narrow band and ended up 0.07 percent at 2,156 yen.