TOKYO, March 23 (Reuters) - Japanese shares extended gains on Wednesday to hit a nine-week high, as heavyweight technology stocks tracked their U.S. peers higher and automakers advanced on a weakening yen.
By 0212 GMT, the Nikkei share average had risen 2.4% to 27,882.77, while the broader Topix had climbed 1.82% to 1,968.82. Both were on course for a seventh straight session of gains.
U.S. stocks ended higher overnight, led by a 2% gain in the Nasdaq, as shares of technology and other big growth names rebounded from recent losses.
"An end of the war between Russia and Ukraine is already factored into the market," said Koichi Kurose, chief strategist, Resona Asset Management.
"Investors' focus now is on which sectors would survive under inflationary risks and those that were seen surviving were rising."
Technology stocks led the gains, with electronic application equipment maker Keyence jumping 4.1%, while game maker Sony Group climbed 2.7% and chip making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 2.96%.
Technology investor SoftBank Group was the top performer on the Nikkei with an 8.31% surge.
Auto and parts makers also shined, rising 2.77%, as the yen weakened further. Toyota Motor gained 3.14% and Honda Motor rose 2.71%.
Nomura Holdings rose 2.68% after the brokerage said it would book a profit from the sale of a portion of its stake in affiliate Nomura Research Institute. Shares of Nomura Research fell 5.19%.
Monex Group Inc was untraded with a glut of buy orders after the online broker said it planned to launch an initial public offering of Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc. The stock was set to rise 16% to its limit.
There were 202 advancers on the Nikkei index against 20 decliners.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board was 0.63 billion, compared with the average of 1.38 billion in the past 30 days. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
