• Tokyo stocks bounced back Tuesday as investors bought on dips after falls in the previous session.
• Investors lifted the Nikkei beyond the 29 800 level by early afternoon, as other Asian markets also made solid gains.

• But the continued spread of Covid-19 in Japan cooled investors' sentiment.

Tokyo stocks bounced back Tuesday as investors bought on dips after falls in the previous session, while awaiting the upcoming corporate earnings season.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.72%, or 212.88 points, to close at 29 751.61, while the broader Topix index added 0.20%, or 3.96 points, to 1 958.55.

"The Nikkei rose on a natural rebound from yesterday's fall" of 0.77%, Okasan Online Securities said.

Investors lifted the Nikkei beyond the 29 800 level by early afternoon, as other Asian markets also made solid gains.

But the continued spread of Covid-19 in Japan cooled investors' sentiment.

"The news came shortly after noon that the daily number of new infections in Osaka had passed 1,000. It weighed on the market and slowed the speed of its gains," SMBC Nikko Securities said.

Investors also took a wait-and-see stance before the corporate earnings season begins later this week in the United States and next week in Japan, the brokerage added.

The market lost a sense of direction toward the end of the session, but remained well supported, Okasan added.

Nippon Steel Corp added 1.49% to 1 878 yen.

Uniqlo-operator Fast Retailing jumped 3.91% to 90 720 yen. Nintendo was up 1.16% to 65 420 yen, while Sony Group edged up 0.04% to 12 180 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 0.58% to 586.5 yen.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which provides Srixon-brand golf equipment to Japanese Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama, continued to attract investors' attention and rose 1.74% to 1 348 yen.

Toyota, whose Lexus brand also sponsors Matsuyama, added 0.85% to 8 507 yen.

Chipmaker Murata Manufacturing fell 1.41% to 8 998 yen, while industrial robot maker Fanuc gave up most of the day's gains and ended up 0.04% at 27 610 yen.

Source: News24