TOKYO, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed sharply higher Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak, as investors sought out stocks with cheap valuations with tech issues gaining notably following Wall Street's rebound overnight.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 505.68 points, or 1.95 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 26,476.50.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 18.66 points, or 1.00 percent, to finish at 1,876.24.
Following the benchmark Nikkei stock index hitting a 15-month low the previous day on the fifth-day of its losing streak, investors were keen to scoop up battered shares, with the market advancing from early play and throughout the day.
There was a global selloff on Thursday due to the situation in Ukraine, but Wall Street, having factored in tensions in Ukraine, dealt with initial slumps to end higher overnight, brokers here said.
"There are still concerns regarding the situation in Ukraine, but the fact that U.S. shares reversed course during trading overnight was a factor that led to today's rise," Makoto Sengoku, senior equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, was quoted as saying.
He added that investors are worried that the situation in Ukraine could further spur inflation due to rising energy prices as Russia is a major global energy supplier.
As for Japanese markets specifically, some strategists suggested the rebound may have been something of a knee-jerk reaction to Wall Street's rise overnight, not reflecting true fundamentals given that U.S. stock futures declined during the day.
"(The) Japanese market made a big reversal from sharp losses in a short period of time. The rebound, however, seems to be a little too strong given declines in the Nasdaq futures," Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, said.
By the close of play, marine transportation, electric appliance and air transportation issues comprised those that gained the most, with rising issues outpacing declining ones by 1,325 to 779 on the First Section, while 76 ended the day unchanged.
Bargain hunters sought out tech issues here following their U.S. peers rising overnight, with Keyence jumping 3.6 percent, while Tokyo Electron leapt 5.8 percent. Advantest, for its part, soared 7.7 percent by the close.
Technology startup investor and Nikkei heavy weight SoftBank Group, meanwhile, was also among the day's notable winners, climbing 5.6 percent.
On the main section on Friday, 1,338.99 million shares changed hands, dropping from Thursday's volume of 1,594.12 million shares.
The turnover on the final trading day of the week came to 3,175.27 billion yen (27.53 billion U.S. dollars). ■
