TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average touched its highest in more than one week on Monday, as investors bought stocks expecting the U.S. economy to remain strong.
The Nikkei climbed to 39,053.64, hitting its highest since Nov. 15, before ending the morning session 1.53 per cent higher at 38,868.68.
The broader Topix was up 1.02 per cent to 2,747.14.
"Overseas factors are important for Japanese stocks now as we have not seen much market moving catalysts within Japan," said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.
Wall Street closed higher on Friday, with all three major indexes posting weekly gains, as investors took comfort from data pointing to robust economic activity in the world's biggest economy.
"But the gains of the Nikkei were capped on concerns about the possible impact of the Republican President-elect Donald Trump's policy on Japanese exporters," Matsumoto said.
Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing jumped 2.9 per cent to give the biggest boost to the Nikkei.
Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron gained 3.6 per cent and tech start-up investor SoftBank Group added 3.72%.
Keisei Electric Railway and Keikyu surged 14.48 per cent and 13.24 per cent, respectively, after local media reported an activist investor group is building up stake in the railway operators.
The railway sector jumped 2.42 per cent to become the top gainer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's (TSE) 33 industry sub-indexes.
Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest slipped 1.33 per cent to weigh the most on the Nikkei. Phone company KDDI fell 0.5 per cent.
Of the more than 1,600 stocks on the TSE's prime market, 71 per cent rose, 24 per cent fell and 3.0 per cent traded flat.