TOKYO, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index closed at a more than two-week high Monday following Wall Street's upbeat lead late last week, with hopes for a pickup in tourism and a weak yen lifting transportation and exporter issues.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 327.36 points, or 1.16 percent, from Friday to end the day at 28,542.11, marking its highest closing level since Aug. 26.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, gained 14.69 points, or 0.75 percent, to finish at 1,980.22.
Local brokers said that a risk-on mood was supported by Wall Street's rally on Friday and investors are now factoring in a 75 basis point rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve this month to tame inflation owing to a slew of upbeat economic data.
They added that the median market consensus being that the U.S. consumer price index to be released Tuesday would support the Fed's rate hike helped alleviate jitters about the Fed's near-term moves, although concerns about the impact on the U.S. economy in the long term still remained.
"Today's gain was led by easing concerns about the pace of rate hikes in the U.S.," Shuji Hosoi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, said, indicating that the market sees an almost 90 percent chance the Fed will hike interest rates by 75 basis points.
"When risk appetite is improved, Japanese stocks are favored as they are relatively cheap compared with their overseas peers," Hosoi added.
Investment strategists also said that the Japanese government saying it planned to further ease its COVID-19 border controls with the possible scrapping of its daily arrivals cap saw tourism and retail-oriented issues advance.
"Air and land transportation issues, along with department store shares rose on hopes of an increase in inbound tourism, which will help improve their earnings," Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., was quoted as saying.
By the close of play, precision instrument, air transportation, and land transportation issues comprised those that gained the most, and rising issues outpaced falling ones by 1,259 to 488 on the Prime Market, while 90 ended the day unchanged.
Heavily-weighed stocks advanced, helping prop-up the broader market, with technology investor SoftBank Group climbing 2.5 percent, while Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing jumped 2.3 percent. Chip making equipment maker Tokyo Electron, meanwhile, closed up 1.2 percent.
Tourism-linked issues advanced on hopes for increased demand, with ANA Holdings rising 2.5 percent and Japan Airlines gaining 2.0 percent.
Similarly, retail issues found favor, with department store operator Mitsukoshi Holdings leaping 4.7 percent.
Exporter issues gained traction on a comparatively weak yen, with electric motor maker Nidec adding 1.5 percent, while TDK ended the day 1.8 percent higher.
The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 2,169.95 billion yen (15.20 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem.