Japan's Nikkei closes above 30,000 on earnings rebound, economy growth hopes

By Stanley White

TOKYO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Japanese shares surged on Mondayto close at over 30-year high on rising expectations for arebound in corporate earnings and economic growth.

The Nikkei index ended up 1.91% at 30,084.15,reclaiming the psychologically important 30,000 level for thefirst time since August 1990. Energy, healthcare, and industrialshares led the gains.

The broader Topix rose 1.04% to 1,953.94 to close atits highest since June 1991.

Shares of companies that have reported positive earningsrose, as investors continued to bet on sectors expected toperform well as the global economy recovers from the coronaviruspandemic.

Japan is expected to start coronavirus vaccinations thisweek, which is also supporting stock prices. However, Japanesestocks have rallied 8% so far this month, and some analysts warnthat the market may be overheating.

"Stocks have risen so fast you could say they've broken thespeed limit," said Ayako Sera, market strategist at SumitomoMitsui Trust Bank.

"Earnings growth has already been priced in for at least ayear from now. There is reluctance to chase the upside fromhere, but stocks won't fall too much."

Equities also got a boost after data showed Japan's grossdomestic product grew faster than expected in the fourthquarter.

The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topixnames were Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd up 3.6%, followed byFanuc Corp, up 3.39%.

The underperformers among the Topix 30 were Hitachi Ltddown 0.94%, followed by Kao Corp that lost0.48%.

There were 163 advancers on the Nikkei index against 59decliners.

The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange'smain board was 1.15 billion, compared to the average of1.26 billion in the past 30 days.(Reporting by Stanley White;Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)