Nikkei tracks overnight Wall Street gains as U.S.-Iran tensions ebb

By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rebounded on
Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on the Wall Street, amid
relief that there were no escalations in tensions between the
United States and Iran.
The Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.51% to 23,554.27,
recovering much of its losses on Monday.
The broader Topix .TOPX gained 1.5% to 1,722.95, already
closing the chart gap made during the New Year holidays just in
one day in a positive sign for bulls.
The mood calmed a little as there were no new aggression
after Iran and the United States traded threats following a U.S.
air strike killing a top Iranian commander.
Wall Street chose to hope for the best and the Dow .DJI
rose 0.24%, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.35% and the Nasdaq
.IXIC 0.56%. MKTS/GLOB
"The markets are hoping that there will be no full-scale
military confrontation. The U.S. side probably doesn't want a
war in an election year, neither does Iran, which are already
hit by sanctions," said Masayuki Doshida, a senior market
analyst at Rakuten Securities.
A broad range of shares rallied, with 90% of shares on the
main board chalking up gains.
Shares in Zojirushi Corp 7965.T jumped 12.6% to lifetime
high after official filing showed its top shareholder changed
the aim of its investment in the kettle maker to make management
advice and proposals from pure investment.
Investors also flocked to domestic demand-oriented shares,
which are perceived to be less vulnerable to external shocks
such as further geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Retailer Seven&I Holdings 3382.T rose 2.1% while Recruit
Holdings 6098.T gained 2.7%.
Sony Corp 6758.T rose 3.5% to its highest levels in 18 1/2
years on hopes of solid earnings while Fujitsu 6702.T closed
in on its 2006 peak, riding on hopes of a boost from 5G wireless
communication growth.
Recent IPO stocks did well as Japanese retail investors saw
a chance for quick gain given the firmness in start-up shares in
the past several months.
Cloud funding service operator Makuake Inc 4479.T rose
6.6%, while reuse business operator BuySell Technologies
7685.T added 5.2%.
Space Market 4487.T , which offers online rental space
service, rose 2.3%. All of them were listed last month.
The index of the Jasdaq start-up market .NOTC , which has
been rising steadily since September, rose 0.87%.