Japan's Nikkei rises as Toyota shares shine
TOKYO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Thursday amid thin trade, boosted by Toyota Motor and as investors bought stocks on the final trading day for dividend rights of firms whose business year ends this month.
The Nikkei .N225 was up 0.53% at 39,336.390 by the midday break. The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.62% to 2,750.89.
Toyota Motor 7203.T rose 5.35% to become the biggest boost for the Nikkei and Topix.
Its shares jumped for a second session after local media reported the automaker would double its return on equity target to 20% by around 2030.
"Toyota shares boosted the market and the environment is good for automakers as the yen remained weak," said Takehiko Masuzawa, trading head at Phillip Securities Japan.
The yen JPY=EBS languished near a five-month low on Wednesday, and was last at 157.4 per dollar.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda maintained his dovish stance in his speech on Wednesday, which failed to reverse the course of the local currency.
The yen fell sharply last week as Ueda struck a cautious note after the central bank kept interest rates steady last week.
"Some investors had expected Ueda might say something hawkish on Wednesday to reverse the yen, but he didn't," said Masuzawa.
Meanwhile, investors bought stocks of local companies as Thursday is the final day for securing dividend payouts for firms whose books close in December, he said.
On the day, the auto sector .ITEQP.T rose 3.96% to become the top performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).
Honda Motor 7267.T rose 4.15% and Nissan Motor 7201.T gained 5%.
All but five sub-indexes rose. The banking index .IBNKS.T shed 0.03%. The airline sector .IAIRL.T fell 0.49% to become the top laggard.
Technology start-up investor SoftBank Group 9984.T rose 1.32% and Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing 9983.T gained 0.38%.
Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T fell 0.28% to weigh the most on the Nikkei.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))
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