TOKYO, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index ended higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street late last week, with a weak yen helping to lift technology stocks.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 352.51 points, or 1.33 percent, from Friday to close the day at 26,906.04.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, added 18.51 points, or 0.96 percent, to finish at 1,945.38.
Dealers here said the market lacked specific drivers, aside from Wall Street's rally in its previous session, and the yen weakening from last week's more than 7-month high versus the U.S. dollar.
They added that a number of markets around Asia being shut for the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, however, did play a part.
Investors were even more focused on Wall Street than usual, owing to market holidays around Asia for the Chinese Lunar New Year, Maki Sawada, a strategist at Nomura Securities, was quoted as saying.
"There are no specific drivers to speak of, and today's moves are mainly a reflection of Wall Street's rally on Friday," she said.
Other brokers said that amid a lack of fresh cues, some investors hit the sidelines to await the release later this week of corporate earnings reports.
"Investors now want to see how earnings results turn out, given that the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to further slow the pace of its rate hikes, Nobuhiko Kuramochi, market strategist at Mizuho Securities Co., was quoted as saying.
Among technology issues following their U.S. peers higher and getting a boost from a weaker yen, chip-manufacturing equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 2.5 percent, while chip materials maker Resonac Holdings jumped 3.2 percent.
Industrial robot maker Yaskawa Electric also found favor, climbing 2.7 percent, while streaming service operator CyberAgent added 2.1 percent, and online retailer Rakuten Group ended 3.5 percent higher.
Nikkei heavyweights helped buoy the broader market, with Fast Retailing, Uniqlo store operator, and startup investor SoftBank Group, advancing 2.7 and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Automakers accelerating on the yen's retreat included Toyota rising 0.3 percent and Suzuki closing 1.8 percent higher.
Bucking the upward trend, department store operators lost ground, as investors opted to lock in profits following gains made last week on hopes for an uptick in tourism.
Among these, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings dropped 1.0 percent.
The majority of the 33 industry categories among Japan's major stocks closed in positive territory, with chip-oriented issues among the best performers.
Of the index's 225 components, 182 rose, 39 fell and four ended flat and the turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 2,319.04 billion yen (17.87 billion U.S. dollars). ■