TOKYO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Thursday following an upbeat lead from Wall Street overnight as a comparatively weak yen against the U.S. dollar propelled buying and sent exporters higher amid hopes for a global economic recovery from the pandemic.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 405.65 points, or 1.78 percent, from Wednesday to close the day at 23,249.61, marking its highest closing level since Feb. 21.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 18.62 points, or 1.16 percent, to finish at 1,624.15.
Trading got off to a bright start, local brokers said, with Wall Street's overnight rally led by tech-linked issues buoying the sector here.
They added that a weaker yen versus the U.S. dollar benefited exporter issues to boost profits made overseas when repatriated.
This, against a backdrop of hopes for the broader worldwide economic recovery from the pandemic helping to send the Nikkei to a six-month closing high at close to pre-pandemic levels.
"The market welcomed the higher U.S. shares amid expectations that the Japanese economy will rebound by benefiting from a U.S. recovery," Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., was quoted as saying.
Precision instrument-related issues also gained on hopes for a rebound in the global manufacturing sector, investment strategists here highlighted.
"Looking at various data, the prospects of a recovery in the global manufacturing sector are getting solid," Takuya Hozumi, global investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, said.
Pharmaceutical issues here, meanwhile, advanced following the U.S. government and Moderna Inc. agreeing to supply 100 million doses of its prospective coronavirus vaccine.
Japanese drugmakers have also gained traction following Japan earlier this month saying it has agreed with British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc to receive 120 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed with the University of Oxford.
Similarly, Japan has agreed with Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE to receive 120 million doses of their potential vaccine, providing its development proves successful.
By the close of play, precision instruments, electric appliance and pharmaceutical issues comprised those that gained the most.
Among precision instrument makers, Olympus gained 3.9 percent, while Terumo advanced 4.5 percent. Nikon, meanwhile, ended the day 2.3 percent higher.
Chip-linked issues finding favor following their U.S. peers' overnight advance included Tokyo Electron climbing 3.1 percent, Murata Manufacturing, rising 2.6 percent, and Advantest closing 4.3 percent higher.
Issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 1,478 to 615 on the First Section, while 80 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Thursday, 1.411 billion shares changed hands, dropping from Wednesday's volume of 1.491 billion shares.
The turnover on the penultimate trading day of the week came to 2.558 trillion yen (23.956 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem
