Nikkei rises to highest since May, Astellas up
TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) The Nikkei share average rose to its highest in more than seven months on Thursday, as Advantest Corp. and other technology firms gained after a rally on Wall Street.
Drug maker Astellas Pharma Inc. advanced after it said it plans to cancel some of its treasury stock.
Japanese shares were helped in part by Wednesday's Wall Street rally, said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
''Right now there don't seem to be any big sellers in the market,'' Hirano said. ''Those who wanted to do any selling seem to have done so (earlier this week).'' The Nikkei was up 9.91 points at 17,233.06 as of 0057 GMT, after earlier hitting its highest since early May. The broader TOPIX index was up 0.08 percent at 1,678.37.
Those gains followed the Dow Jones industrial average's record close above 12,500 on Wednesday.
Chip-equipment firm Advantest rose 0.9 percent to 6,770 yen.
Sony Corp. gained 0.6 percent to 5,150 yen.
Astellas, Japan's third-largest drug maker, gained 1.9 percent to 5,440 yen after it said it would reduce its treasury stock to between 1 and 2 percent of its outstanding shares this business year, from 8.8 percent.
Ryowa Life Create Co. Ltd. rose 7.8 percent to 943 yen after a subsidiary of a Lehman Brothers-affiliated investment fund launched a 9 million tender offer for the condominium developer. The fund is offering 950 yen per share.
Reuters SBA VP0712