Japanese shares track Wall Street higher, weaker yen supports exporters

TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rose on Tuesday as
investor sentiment was lifted by a tech-led overnight rally on
Wall Street, and a softer yen propped up exporters.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 gained 1.4% to
22,505.83 by the midday break, while the broader Topix .TOPX
added 1.56% to 1,546.37.
All but one of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
exchange traded in positive territory, led by highly cyclical
airlines .IAIRL.T , land transport .IRAIL.T and shippers
.ISHIP.T .
Overnight, Wall Street rallied as strong U.S. manufacturing
data and gains in tech-related stocks lifted sentiment, with the
Nasdaq settling at a record closing high.
An industry gauge released on Monday indicated U.S.
manufacturing activity expanded in July at the fastest pace in
more than a year.
Shares of export-oriented automobile makers got a boost from
a weaker yen as it edged further away from a 4-1/2-month high
hit last week against the dollar.
Mazda Motor 7261.T spiked 7.64%, while Mitsubishi Motor
7211.T and Subaru 7270.T added 5.26% and 4.32%,
respectively.
Investors also digested a slew of earnings reports, with
Suzuki Motor 7269.T rising 6.45% on better-than-expected
earnings.
While the automaker posted a 1.3 billion yen operating
profit, its worst quarterly performance on record, it was still
higher than a consensus forecast for a loss of 38 billion yen
drawn from six analysts polled by Refinitiv. Food company Kikkoman Corp 2801.T jumped 14.11% to its
daily limit on stay-at-home demand hopes, despite a 12.8%
decline in April-June net profit.
Among the biggest percentage losers in the index, Nikkei
heavyweight SoftBank Group 9984.T dipped 1.96% after Reuters
reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter, that the
tech conglomerate under-reported income by around 40 billion
yen.
Elsewhere, Sony Corp 6758.T added 4.22% ahead of earnings
later in the day.