TOKYO, Feb 17 - Japan's Nikkei average closed up over one percent at a two-week high on Tuesday on hopes for robust economic growth data, with tech shares like Advantest Corp <6857.T> back in favour after being hurt by the yen's strength. Expectations that Japanese gross domestic product data for the October-December quarter out on Wednesday will show strong signs the economy is pulling out of 10 years of stagnation lent broad support to the market, with domestic demand-led sectors like steel gaining.
That sentiment flowed over into tech issues, which had largely been out in the cold since early February as worries about the yen's strength and disappointing earnings from digital cameras weighed. The Nikkei <.N225> ended higher by 1.44 percent or 152.41 points at 10,701.13, wiping out the previous day's 8.97-point decline. It rose as high as 10,721.31, its highest intraday level since February 3.//