Japan's Topix index rose for a second day, trimming losses from the biggest weekly slide since the rally started in November, as power producers rebounded and insurers climbed on higher bond yields.
Bloomberg News reports that the Topix utilities gauge rose by 8.3 per cent, advancing the most among the broader index's 33 industry groups after leading declines.
Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Company gained 1.9 per cent as rising yields improved prospects for investment returns. SoftBank Corporation added 2.1 per cent after a person familiar with the situation said its Sprint Nextel Corp. acquisition will probably pass a US national-security review.
The Topix gained 0.9 per cent to 1,178.87 at the close of trading in Tokyo. The gauge rebounded for a second day after sliding almost 10 percent in the previous three days, the first significant setback in a nine-month rally that's lifted Japan's broadest equities gauge 61 per cent.
"The market bottom is getting stronger," said Masaru Hamasaki, a strategist at Tokyo-based Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Company, which oversees the equivalent of $100bn. "A bigger variety of investors, such as individuals, are buying on dips.
The market hasn't priced in the full effects of the potential recovery in the economy."
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.1 per cent to 14,326.46. The gauge lagged behind the Topix as Fast Retailing Company and Fanuc Corporation, which together account for 15 per cent of the benchmark, declined.
A measure of the Nikkei's volatility was about 60 per cent above the average for the past year after retreating a fourth day from its highest since March 2011.
Futures on the Nikkei 225 dropped by 0.8 per cent to 14,250.
Contracts on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed by 0.2 per cent. The gauge rose by 0.6 per cent, extending its advance this month to 3.9 per cent, after US consumer confidence climbed to the highest since 2008 and home values jumped the most in seven years.
The Topix's Electric Power & Gas index advanced the most in more than a month today, led by Tohoku Electric Power Company and Kyushu Electric Power Company, which each gained more than 15 per cent.
