(Corrects headline to say index gains most in 7 months)
TOKYO, March 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Topix Index on Monday
jumped the most in seven months, as a pause in sell-offs in U.S.
treasuries boosted the tech-heavy Nasdaq index and lifted
domestic shares of chipmakers.
The Topix Index .TOPX jumped 2.04% to 1,894.94, the
largest gain since Aug. 11, 2020, while the the Nikkei share
average .N225 advanced 2.41% to 29,663.50, the biggest gain
since Dec. 29.
Shares on Monday bounced back following their worst drop in
almost a year last week after a spike in global bond yields
spooked investors already uneasy about the market's stretched
valuation. "The Nikkei will reclaim the 30,000 level sooner or later,
depending on how the U.S. bond yields will perform," said
Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS
Asset Management.
"In the first place, the yields rose on expectations for an
economic rebound, which is not a bad news for the stock market."
Nasdaq index IXIC , composed mainly of tech shares that are
sensitive to rising yields, rose 0.56% on Friday after U.S. bond
yields peaked, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
fell 1.5%, and the S&P 500 .SPX edged down 0.48.
Shares of chipamkers jumped in Japan, with Tokyo Electron
8035.T rising 2.09%, Advantest 6857.T adding 4.23% and
Screen Holdings 7735.T jumping 3.49%.
Index heavyweight SoftBank Group 9984.T , up 5.46%, was
the biggest contributor to Nikkei's gain, followed by Uniqlo
clothing store operator Fast Retailing 9983.T , which jumped
2.71%.
Itochu 8001.T jumped 3.91% after Warren Buffet's Berkshire
Hathaway disclosed a holding of a 5.1% stake in the trading
house, as of Dec. 31. The largest percentage gainer in the Nikkei index was NTT
Data 9613.T , which surged 8.12%, followed by Haseko 1808.T
gaining 5.92 % and Nippon Sheet Glass 5202.T up 5.57%.
The largest percentage losers were Sharp Corp 6753.T ,
which fell 2.83 %, followed by Rakuten 4755.T losing 2.02 %
and West Japan Railway Co 9021.T down 0.88%.
There were 206 advancers in the Nikkei index against 17
decliners.
All the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded
higher.