TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average jumped more than 1% on Monday, as concerns over the impact of the Bank of Japan's decision to sell its holdings of riskier assets receded.
As of 0124 GMT, the Nikkei was up 1.4% at 45,675.92.
The broader Topix rose 0.9% to 3,175.71. At the two-day meeting that concluded on Friday, the BOJ announced that it would sell its holdings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the market at an annual pace of around 330 billion yen ($2.23 billion), as part of the central bank's efforts to phase out its massive monetary stimulus.
On Friday, the Nikkei reversed early gains to fall as much as 2% shortly after the BOJ's announcement, before ending the session 0.57% lower.
"Investors overreacted to the BOJ's announcement of the sale of ETFs. And today, the market is rebounding from the decline," said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
"The pace of the BOJ's sale of ETFs is slow, and the market just wondered why they turned so bearish on Friday," he said.
Chip-related shares rose to provide the biggest boost to the Nikkei, with Advantest and Tokyo Electron rising 3.56% and 5%, respectively.
Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing rose 1.14%.
On the other hand, technology investor SoftBank Group lost 0.44% to become the biggest drag for the Nikkei. ($1 = 148.2100 yen) - Reuters
