TOKYO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Japanese shares bounced back on Wednesday as positive COVID-19 vaccine news globally supported economic recovery hopes, while better-than-expected domestic machinery orders data also lifted investor sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.04% to 26,743.52 by the midday break, after declining for three straight sessions. The broader Topix .TOPX added 0.88% to 1,774.24.
Overnight, the S&P and Nasdaq indexes notched record highs on a string of vaccine news and seeming progress on U.S. stimulus talks. .N
Hopes for a swift global economic recovery grew as Britain on Tuesday became the first Western nation to begin a wide vaccination campaign, and on encouraging COVID-19 vaccine news from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) JNJ.N and Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) PFE.N . market sentiment further, data showed Japan's core machinery orders rebounded sharply in October from the previous month's drop. 17.1% jump was the largest month-on-month rise since comparable data became available in 2005, and far exceeded a 2.8% expansion forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.
The upbeat data sent shares of machinery companies higher. Komatsu 6301.T climbed 2.58%, SMC Corp 6273.T added 2.27% and Fanuc Corp 6954.T rose 2.02%.
Other sectors on the main bourse followed suit. Paper and pulp .IPAPR.T and textiles .ITXTL.T rose 2.45% and 1.13%, respectively.
Elsewhere, semiconductors tracked their U.S. peers higher. Advantest Corp 6857.T rose nearly 1.3%, while SUMCO 3436.T spiked 4.38%
Tokyo Dome Corp 9681.T slipped nearly 4.5% after property developer Mitsui Fudosan 8801.T said on Tuesday that Oasis Management was willing to tender shares in the company. Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firm shares bucked the overall trend to decline 1.96%.