TOKYO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks ended higher in choppy trade on Tuesday as hopes for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine elevated the market mood, although profit-taking at one point saw the index turn negative.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 65.75 points, or 0.26 percent, from Monday to close the day at 24,905.59, marking its highest closing level since Nov. 5, 1991.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, climbed 18.90 points, or 1.12 percent, to finish at 1,700.80.
A broad range of issues found traction from the get-go, local brokers said, lifted by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and German partner BioNTech SE saying during their late-stage clinical study its developmental vaccine was more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19.
"The vaccine development lifted hopes that economic activities will become more active and restrictions on the movement of people will end, boosting sectors battered by the pandemic such as tourism and airlines," Maki Sawada, vice president of the investment research and investor services department at Nomura Securities Co., was quoted as saying.
But some issues were rise for profit following the Nikkei's 8 percent rise over the past six trading days, with a fresh 29-year intraday high hit soon after the morning bell.
"Investors grew cautious that the pace of the rise was too fast for the short term," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, equity strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities Co.
By the close of play, air transportation, land transportation and mining-oriented issues comprised those that gained the most.
Among transportation issues finding favor, Japan Airlines surged 21.2 percent, while ANA Holdings jumped 18.1 percent.
Department store operators were also among the day's winners, with J.Front Retailing climbing 16 percent, while Isetan Mitsukoshi soared 13.0 percent by the close.
Investors opted to offload stay-at-home-relates issues, with Nintendo dropping 4.5 percent, while Bandai Namco Holding and Z Holdings both slumped around 8 percent.
On the main section on Tuesday, 2,065.35 million shares changed hands, rising from Monday's volume of 1,227.87 million shares.
The turnover on the second trading day of the week came to 4.074 trillion yen (38.656 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem
