TOKYO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks finished higher Tuesday to close out a three-day winning streak as U.S. shares rose overnight and Japanese firms continued to report robust earnings.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 76.50 points, or 0.28 percent, from Monday to close the day at 27,078.48.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, inched up 0.13 points, or 0.01 percent, to finish at 1,896.06.
Local brokers said U.S. shares gaining overnight, particularly those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, set the impetus for buying early on.
They added that Japanese firms' stocks reporting solid quarterly earnings found particular favor as they were still deemed comparatively affordable.
"Market participants scooped up shares from firms with strong earnings, but it's difficult to deduce whether that optimism will continue for upcoming results," Koichi Fujishiro, a senior economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, was quoted as saying.
Gains were trimmed in the afternoon, however, as U.S. stocks futures lost ground and the yen rose against the U.S. dollar, threatening to hurt exporters.
"With not many market-moving catalysts, the decline in U.S. futures dragged the sentiment," Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, was quoted as saying.
By the close of play, marine transportation, land transportation, and information and communication issues comprised those that gained the most, and rising issues outpaced those that fell by 1,193 to 914 on the First Section, while 77 ended the day unchanged.
Among tech issues finding favor as well as some reporting solid earnings, TDK surged 11.2 percent, after raising its profit outlook for the second time this year, while Tokyo Electron increased 1.7 percent.
Japanese pharmaceutical firm Shionogi & Co. soared 10.3 percent after reports its oral drug is effective as an antiviral to treat COVID-19.
Shipping lines advanced following Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. reporting robust earnings a day earlier.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines climbed 5.5 percent, while Nippon Yusen gained 3.8 percent by the close.
Some exporters lost ground owing to the yen's rise against the U.S. dollar, with Suzuki Motor dropping 2.0 percent, while Mazda Motor reversed 1.2 percent by the close.
On the main section on Tuesday, 1,373.98 million shares changed hands, rising from Monday's volume of 1,314.61 million shares.
The turnover on the second trading day of the week came to 3,408.27 billion yen (29.71 billion U.S. dollars). ■
