Tokyo shares advance on weak yen, US gains

Tokyo shares rose on Monday as investors cheered the dollar's strength against the yen and gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.26 percent, or 412.99 points, to 33,172.22, while the broader Topix index added 1.39 percent, or 31.95 points, to 2,322.56.The market benefited from the dollar's ascent against the Japanese currency, with the US unit trading at 141.65 yen, against 141.17 yen in New York and 139.10 yen seen in Tokyo on Friday.The yen dropped as the Bank of Japan announced Monday a move to buy government bonds in what was seen as a message to the market that the central bank was committed to keeping the long-term interest rate in check.The Bank slightly increased the flexibility of its super-easy monetary policy last week, but it was seen as a small enough change not to disrupt the market.A series of strong corporate earnings announcements have also encouraged investors, analysts said."The market cheered gains of US and European shares last week as well as the yen's weakness," IwaiCosmo Securities said in a note.But gains were capped in the afternoon on investors' caution against overheating, it said."Still, investors bought bargain shares and stocks of firms with strong earnings, providing support for the Nikkei around 33,000," the brokerage added.The lower yen encouraged buying of exporters, Daiwa Securities said in a note.Among major shares, SoftBank Group rose 2.03 percent to 7,242 yen, Toyota jumped 3.29 percent to 2,386 yen and Sony Group added 2.11 percent to 13,315 yen.Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rebounded to gain 0.88 percent to 1,146 yen.Fast Retailing, which operates the Uniqlo brand, rose 1.98 percent to 35,560 yen.Tokyo Electron, which makes tools to build semiconductors, rose 1.60 percent to 21,245 yen.However, Advantest, which makes tests for semiconductors, fell 1.39 percent to 19,525 yen.