TOKYO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei on Wednesday crossed the 29,000-level for the first time in more than seven months as Wall Street's major indexes rallied overnight after U.S. retailers' robust earnings.
The Nikkei share average rose 0.81% to 29,101.33 by the midday break, after rising to 29,153.05, its highest level since Jan. 6.
The broader Topix advanced 0.78% to 1,997.35.
The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected results and outlooks from Walmart and Home Depot bolstered views on the health of consumers, while technology shares declined and weighed on the Nasdaq.
"Strong U.S. equities lifted investor sentiment. Investors responded the upbeat earnings of U.S. retailers," said Takatoshi Itoshima, strategist at Pictet Asset Management Japan.
Uniqlo clothing store owner Fast Retailing jumped 2.39% and was the biggest boost for the Nikkei, followed by a medical equipment maker Olympus, which rose 2.69%, and staffing agency Recruit Holdings climbing 2.11%.
Tokyo Electric Power Holdings added 3.86% on expectations of a restart of nuclear power plants after a report said the nuclear authority approved the utility to set up anti-terrorism facilities at one of its nuclear plants a market participant said.
In technology heavyweights, chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron fell 0.8% and weighed on the Nikkei the most. Robot maker Fanuc slipped 0.73%.
There were 183 advancers on the Nikkei index against 37 decliners.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board was 0.6 billion, compared to the average of 1.16 billion in the past 30 days. (Reporting by Junko Fujita, additional reporting by Tokyo markets team; editing by Uttaresh.V)
