TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japanese share advanced on Thursday, led by heavyweight technology stocks and shippers, as the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March lifted investors' risk appetite.
The Nikkei share average gained 1.3% to 28,827.0 by 0201 GMT, while the broader Topix rose about 1% to 2,003.83.
"Investors got a relief after they confirmed that the Federal Reserve is not in a hurry to raise rates and turned their risk appetite on," said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.
"But whether this momentum will last until next week or after is a different question."
Wall Street ended sharply higher overnight after the U.S. central bank said it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and begin raising interest rates as much as three times next year.
Heavyweight technology stocks tracked a 3.7% jump in the Philadelphia Semiconductor index. Chip-related Tokyo Electron and Advantest rose 2.2% and 3.98%, respectively. Robot maker Fanuc gained 1.84%.
Canon jumped 4.91% after office equipment maker raised its annual dividend forecast.
Shipping stocks, up 3.9%, became the top gainer among the bourse's 33 industry sub-indexes after Nomura Securities analyst raised target prices for the main three shippers .
Nippon Yusen gained 4.35%, Mitsui OSK Lines rose 3.48% and Kawasaki Kisen advanced 3.92%.
Shinsei Bank lost 7.06% to snap a sharp gain in the previous session. The stock has been volatile after the online financial conglomerate SBI Holdings completed a tender offer last week for the bank to gain a 47.77% stake. (Editing by Rashmi Aich)
