TOKYO, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Thursday following Wall Street's rise overnight on eased concerns over aggressive rate hikes after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested the pace would be less assertive than market expectations.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 184.24 points, or 0.70 percent, from Wednesday to close the day at 26,577.27.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 21.86 points, or 1.18 percent, to finish at 1,881.80.
Trading got off to an upbeat start, brokers here said, with investor sentiment lifted by Wall Street's rise overnight following Powell saying the Fed would begin "carefully raising rates from this month, while keeping a close eye on inflation and developments in Ukraine."
But with energy prices continuing to rise and crude oil futures continuing to soar as the situation in Ukraine will likely lead to a reduction in energy supplies, dealers here said investors remained circumspect and opted not to chase the market higher.
"The path for rate hikes has become clearer, but there's still uncertainty over the Ukraine situation and the impact of the rise in resource prices, making it hard to chase the market higher," Jun Kitazawa, an equity strategist at Miki Securities, was quoted as saying.
Other market strategists here concurred with Toshikazu Horiuchi, an equity strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities Co. saying that, "Excessive concern over interest rate hikes in the United States eased as Powell indicated the Fed will move cautiously in conducting them."
He added, "But the market was weighed down by worries over surging crude oil futures."
By the close of play, marine transportation, oil and coal product, and bank issues comprised those that gained the most, with rising issues outpacing falling ones by 1,424 to 667 on the First section, with 89 ending the day unchanged.
Automaker issues accelerated following the Japanese yen's decline, which helps boost exporters' overseas profits when repatriated, with Toyota gaining 0.4 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors leapt 3.9 percent.
Shipping lines gained traction, with Nippon Yusen rising 5.7 percent, while Kawasaki Kisen ended the day 5.5 percent higher.
Energy-oriented stocks continued to be snapped-up on expectations that prices for crude oil will continue an uptrend. Cosmo Energy Holdings climbed 5.2 percent, while Idemitsu Kosan climbed 6.2 percent by the close.
Heavily-weighted Nikkei component Fast retailing, owner of the Uniqlo chain of casual clothing stores, weighed on the broader market, however, losing 1.2 percent after saying its sales in February declined on year.
On the main section On Thursday, 1,234.94 million shares changed hands, dropping from Wednesday's volume of 1,425.53 million shares.
The turnover on the penultimate trading day of the week came to 2,756.14 billion yen (23.80 billion U.S. dollars). ■