Japan's Nikkei rises more than 1% as weaker yen boosts appetite

TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose more than 1% on Thursday as a weak yen boosted sentiment, masking losses of SoftBank Group on its surprise quarterly loss.

The Nikkei .N225 was up 1.2% to 39,421.00 as of 0216 GMT.

"Last month, Japanese stocks were dragged lower by worries about the yen's strength. But those concerns have eased for now as the yen fell against the dollar," said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.

After Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised short-term interest rates to 0.5% last month, expectations grew that the central bank may raise rates faster and higher, driving the yen to rise against the U.S. dollar.

"The market view on the BOJ's monetary policy has not changed but the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates as expected and that changed the course of the yen," Matsumoto said.

The dollar rose to a one-week high against the yen overnight, as a hotter-than-expected consumer prices reading raised expectations that the Fed will hold rates higher for longer. FRX/

A weaker Japanese currency tends to boost exporters' shares, as it increases the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms repatriate them to Japan.

The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.92% to 2,758.34, with Toyota Motor 7203.T rising 1.8% to boost the index the most.

Honda 7267.T gained 1.89%, while Nissan Motor 7201.T lost 1.3%.

Trend Micro 4704.T surged 16%, hitting the daily limit, after Reuters reported Bain Capital, Advent International and EQT AB are among private equity firms competing to acquire the Japanese cybersecurity firm.

SoftBank Group 9984.T fell 3.69% to drag the Nikkei the most after the tech investor posted a $2.4 billion quarterly loss, hit by a decline in the value of e-commerce platform Coupang and other companies held by its Vision Fund investment arm.