Japanese shares jump on Fed's growth projection, Topix at 30-year high

TOKYO, March 18 (Reuters) - Japanese shares jumped on Thursday, with the Topix index hitting a 30-year high, propelled by the U.S. Federal Reserve's projection for a rapid economic growth and pledge for low rates.

The broader Topix .TOPX advanced 1.23% to close at 2,008.51, crossing the 2,000 mark for the first time since May 1991. The Nikkei index jumped 1.01% to 30,216.75, its highest close in three weeks.

"Investors have a lot of reasons to sell stocks at the end of the fiscal year end March, but today their appetite for making bets greatly exceeded the sell-off pressure," said Takatoshi Itoshima, strategist at Pictet Asset Management.

"The Fed gave investors confidence by brushing off uncertainties of the rate outlook by pledging to keep its interest rate at close to zero."

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at record highs on Wednesday after the Fed said the U.S. economy is heading for its strongest growth in nearly 40 years, fuelled by massive federal fiscal stimulus and the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines. .N Japan, chip-related shares advanced, with Nikkei heavyweights Tokyo Electron 8035.T jumping 2.72%, Fanuc 6954.T gaining 1.94% and Advantest 6857.T rising 3.32%.

The airliners gained, with ANA Holdings 9202.T and Japan Airlines 9201.T rising 1.32% and 1.46%, respectively, as the Japanese government's advisory panel on coronavirus countermeasures approved a plan to let the state of emergency expire in the Tokyo area as scheduled on March 21. Electric Power 9507.T surged 5.26% after a media report said a court ruled that the utility can resume operations of its only nuclear reactor. UFJ Financial Group 8306.T , up 5.15%, and Toyota Motor 7203.T , which rose 4.12%, were the biggest advancers on the Topix 30.

The underperformers among the Topix 30 were SoftBank Group 9984.T , down 1.73%, followed by Astellas Pharma 4503.T , losing 0.50%.