TOKYO, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei jumped to a six-week closing high on Tuesday, the first trading session of the new year, as chip-related heavyweights rose after Wall Street's strong finish overnight and a softer yen boosted automakers.
The Nikkei share average rose 1.77% to 29,301.79, its highest close since Nov. 25, wrapping up the first trading day of a new year on positive note for the first time since 2018. A 6.13% jump in Toyota Motor lifted the broader Topix 1.9% to 2,030.22.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted record closing highs, led by Tesla's 13.5% jump and as investors cheered Apple becoming the first company to hit a $3 trillion market value.
"The U.S. market's strong finish lifted investor sentiment in Japan," said Kentaro Hayashi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
"Investors tend to buy heavyweights when the sentiment is strong. That explains why chip-related shares led the gains."
Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 3.23% and was the biggest contributor to the Nikkei's rise, followed by semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest , which gained 3.67%, and wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical , up 3.69%.
Automakers climbed 4.5%, with Toyota leading the gains following a report that the company was planning to launch its own operating system, which would be capable of handling advanced operations such as autonomous driving.
Honda Motor rose 3.07% and Nissan Motor gained 6.17% as the U.S. dollar reached its strongest level in more than a month against the yen.
Investors shrugged off concerns about the spread of the coronavirus even after Tokyo confirmed on Monday the highest number of daily infections since October, with increasing cases of the Omicron variant.
Air-conditioner maker Daikin Industries fell the most among the top 30 core Topix names with a drop of 0.84%, followed by SoftBank Group, which was down 0.88%. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
