Japanese shares snap 3-day losing streak as battered stocks bought back

* Nikkei up 1.52%, Topix gains 1.36%
* Battered value shares bought back, Topix value up 2%
* CyberAgent, Zozo up after earnings
* Eisai drops after Alzheimer's drug delay

TOKYO, April 23 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose on
Thursday, as sellers covered their positions after Wall Street
rebounded overnight on the promise of more U.S. government aid
to ease the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus health
crisis.
The Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.52% to 19,429.44
after three straight sessions of losses. The broader Topix
.TOPX gained 1.36% to 1,425.98.
"We have seen a bit of short-covering after U.S. stocks
rebounded and oil prices stabilised for now. For now, the Nikkei
may stay range-bound between 19,000 and 19,500 ahead of Japanese
earnings," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo
Mitsui DS Asset Management.
Analysts are sanguine about Japanese corporate earnings this
year in the expectation of swift economic recovery from the
coronavirus outbreak, though some strategists and investors
caution such optimism could be misplaced. Among the top gainers were shares that have been badly hit
so far this year, including advertisement firm Dentsu Group
4324.T , retailer J.Front Retailing 3086.T and oil
development firm Inpex 1605.T . They rose 6.6%, 8.3%, 6.1%
respectively.
Investors scooped up value-oriented shares, those that had
been idling at cheap levels. Topix value .TOPXV rose 2.1%
compared to 0.7% gains in Topix growth .TOPXG .
Among value shares, shippers soared, with Kawasaki Kisen
9107.T up 5.8%, Nippon Yusen 9101.T rising 5.7% and Mitsui
OSK Lines 9104.T 5.6%.
Transport equipment companies .ITEQP.T rose 2.4%, with
Honda Motor Co Ltd 7267.T gaining 3.9%.
Shares of some companies related to the semi-conductor
industry also jumped after their U.S. peers gained sharply, with
the Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX surging 5.9% in its
biggest one-day leap since April 6.
Shinetsu Chemical 4063.T rose 2.9% while Screen Holdings
7735.T gained 3.2%.
Elsewhere, CyberAgent 4751.T climbed 6.8% after the
company reported strong growth in quarterly profit on brisk
gaming business.
Zozo 3092.T rallied 6.1% after the online fashion retailer
led by flamboyant entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa published
earnings estimates suggesting a pickup in revenue in the
previous quarter.
The index of Mothers start-up shares .MTHR rose 3.3%,
erasing losses made earlier this week.
On the other hand, drugmaker Eisai lost 8.9% after Biogen
Inc BIIB.O on Wednesday delayed the filing for marketing
approval of its experimental Alzheimer's disease drug developed
jointly with Eisai.
Biogen said it needed more time to prepare the data before
submission. Trade was slow, with turnover hitting the second lowest
levels in recent weeks at 1.893 trillion yen worth of shares
chancing hands on the main board.