Tokyo's Nikkei index climbs over 20,000 by break

Tokyo's benchmark index climbed above 20,000 on Wednesday morning, led by bank shares while a weaker yen gave exporters a boost despite a weak lead from Wall Street.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 1.08 percent, or 214.28 points, to 20,123.37 by the break, heading towards its first close above the psychologically important 20,000 level in 15 years.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues gained 0.84 percent, or 13.44 points, to 1,622.32.

Investors are focusing on the start of Japanese earnings season with many firms set to report bumper fiscal-year profits.

"Expectations are quite firm for the Japanese economy and earnings," Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager at SMBC Nikko Securities, told Bloomberg News.

"Companies will likely provide conservative forecasts for the coming year and the market has digested that outlook. In the end, we expect profits to grow by two digits."

Shortly before markets opened, fresh data showed Japan posted its first trade surplus in nearly three years in March as import bills fell owing to tumbling oil prices while the value of exports to North America soared.

Investor sentiment was also buoyed by a wave of global monetary easing, most recently with China loosening its credit grip on Sunday.

On forex markets, the dollar fetched 119.70 yen, up from 119.63 yen in New York and 119.44 yen in Tokyo earlier Tuesday.

A weaker yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and inflates the value of their repatriated profits.

In share trading, Japan's biggest bank Mitsubishi UFJ gained 2.94 percent to 879.1 yen, rival Mizuho Financial Group rose 2.38 percent to 232.2 yen, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group jumped 4.42 percent to 5,273.0 yen.

Sony edged up 0.15 percent to 3,686.0 yen while automaker Mazda gained 1.46 percent to 2,429.5 yen.

Kyushu Electric jumped 3.48 percent to 1,276.0 yen after a court in southern Japan rejected a bid by a citizens' group to halt the restart of two nuclear reactors operated by the utility.

Yahoo Japan was up 2.69 percent to 534.0 yen after its US counterpart -- under pressure to deliver stronger profits -- said it was exploring a possible sale of its stake in the Japanese business.

US stocks mostly fell Tuesday, but the Nasdaq stayed in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.47 percent and the broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.15 percent, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite adding 0.39 percent.

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