TOKYO, April 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei rose for a second session on Thursday, boosted by tech shares and travel stocks as they tracked overnight gains on Wall Street.
The Nikkei ended the day 1.22% higher at 27,172.00, closing north of the psychological 27,000 level for the first time since April 6. Of its 225 components, 201 stocks rose, while 21 fell and three were flat.
The benchmark stock index had risen 1.93% the previous day, rebounding after dropping to a four-week closing low of 26,334.98 on Tuesday.
The broader Topix gained 0.95% on Thursday. All but two of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 subsectors rose, and losses were not more than 0.24%. Air transport was the top performer, rallying 4.15%.
"While the main part of yesterday's Nikkei gains was just a knee-jerk rebound off the low, today it's reflecting what happened in U.S. stocks, and there are signs of a potential recovery trend," said a trader at a domestic securities firm.
Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing led advancers by index points, gaining 2.14% ahead of after-the-bell financial results. The company saw first-half operating profit climb 18%.
Startup investor SoftBank Group was next with a 3.04% rally, followed by chip giant Tokyo Electron's 1.83% rise.
A retreat in U.S. Treasury yields has helped rate-sensitive tech stocks, with the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index gaining 2.36% overnight.
Other Japanese chipmakers also advanced, with Advantest up 1.76%. Renesas Electronics jumped 6.36% after its president said in a Nikkei-CNBC interview that he is considering a share buyback.
Airline ANA Holdings jumped 3.6% after U.S. peer Delta forecast a return to profit in the current quarter.
Travel agency H.I.S. advanced 2.59% after announcing it would restart Hawai'i tours following a two-year hiatus. (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; editing by Uttaresh.V and Devika Syamnath)
