Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a two-month closing high on Monday, as energy stocks rallied on stronger oil prices and tech names recovered, while gains in U.S. stock futures and Chinese equities also lent support.

The Nikkei closed 0.56% higher at 27,915.89, after starting the session lower at 27,523.95 following a tech-led sell-off on Wall Street at the end of last week.

Tech was the only sector on the Nikkei that closed lower. It settled down 0.07% but was sharply off morning lows. Chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron swung to a 1.55% gain, while peer Advantest advanced 0.55%.

Energy was by far the best performing sector, soaring 3.21%. Idemitsu Kosan and ENEOS gained 5.41% and 4.76%, respectively.

Of the Nikkei's 225 component stocks, 130 advanced versus 86 that fell and nine that were flat.

The broader Topix gained 0.31% to 1,939.11.

U.S. Nasdaq futures gained 0.75%, after the index lost 2.67% on Friday as a strong U.S. jobs report raised fears of very aggressive Federal Reserve policy tightening. S&P 500 futures signalled a 0.6% rebound, following a 1.63% slide for the stock benchmark on Friday.

"There're still not enough trading catalysts to send the Nikkei above 28,000, and with the U.S. CPI data due this week, the topside is heavy," said a market participant at a domestic securities firm.

Among other notable gainers on the Nikkei, Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing rose 2.77% and Nintendo advanced 0.77%.

Travel stocks got a boost from expectations for a restart to the government's GoTo Travel campaign. Airline ANA Holdings rose 2.92% and travel agent H.I.S. added 3.29%. (Additional reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)


Reuters