Nikkei index up most in 3 weeks

Tokyo stocks marked their biggest daily rise in three weeks to close above 10,000 yesterday, boosted by a rally in tech shares after strong Apple earnings, with more gains in sight as Japan heads into its earnings season.

Many players say the Nikkei could well rise more, noting that most United States corporate earnings have beaten market estimates, as well as a favourable outlook on technical charts and attractive valuations that have encouraged institutional players to build long positions.

"The overall mood is rather bullish, but low volumes point to some nervousness over debt problems in the US and the eurozone," said Mitsushige Akino, general manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.

The benchmark Nikkei average closed up 1.2 per cent at 10,005.90 yesterday, jumping the most since June 29, while the broader Topix gained 0.8 per cent to 860.66.

Most investors are long in the market, suggesting sentiment towards Japanese stocks is very positive.

Among companies benefiting from the Apple euphoria, Toshiba, a maker of NAND flash memories, rose 2.7 per cent to 413 and Foster Electric, which makes headphones for smartphones, jumped to a one-week high in heavy volume, gaining 1.7 per cent to 1520.

Only 1.53 billion shares changed hands.

-Bloomberg