Nikkei rises to near seven-week highs

Japan’s Nikkei share average rose to near seven-week highs on Tuesday, with financials leading the gains after US bond yields spiked to four-year highs.

The Nikkei advanced 0.67 per cent to 22,235, near last week’s high of 22,360 while the broader Topix gained 0.71 per cent to 1,763.

Banks rose 1.9 per cent, with Mitsubishi UFJ climbing 2.5 per cent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial up 1.5 per cent. Insurers gained 1.4 per cent, reports Reuters.

With Japanese financial institutions stepping up investment and lending in the United States in recent years as negative interest rates at home crushed domestic returns, higher US borrowing costs are seen as improving their margins.

Exporters also benefited from a fall in the yen to 10-week lows, with Toyota rising 1.6 per cent and Shin-Etsu Chemical up 1.5 per cent.