Japan's Nikkei share average rose to near three-week highs on Monday, with a majority of sectors advancing as investor confidence continued to improve after Wall Street shares made steady gains.
The Nikkei rose 1.2 per cent to 22,142.02 points by midmorning, after earlier touching 22,226.53, highest since February 7. The benchmark index had gained 0.8 per cent the following week.
Exporters were buoyed as the yen's surge against the dollar seen earlier in the month lost some momentum. Toyota Motor Corp rose 0.6 per cent, Tokyo Electron added 1.4 per cent and Bridgestone Corp gained 0.3 per cent.
Of Tokyo's 33 sub-indexes, 31 gained, led by pharmaceuticals and precision machinery.
Powell’s testimony
However, market gains were limited by caution ahead of new Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s semi-annual Congressional testimony starting on Tuesday. Investors will be looking for clues on his views on monetary policy at a time when equity markets are fretting over rising US yields and the risks of faster-than-expected interest rate rises.
The broader Topix was 0.8 per cent higher at 1,774.70.