Share prices closed higher helped by gains among high-tech stocks and steel makers, as investors were heartened by a retreat in crude oil prices, firmer US stocks and a weaker yen, dealers said. The blue-chip Nikkei 225 index closed up 34.25 points or 0.3 pct at 12,307.37, its second gain in four days. The broader-based TOPIX index of all First Section issues rose 2.84 points or 0.2 pct to 1,252.94. But decliners narrowly led gainers 745 to 737, with 162 issues unchanged. Volume reached 1.84 bln shares, much leaner than the 2.21 bln shares traded yesterday. With major Japanese companies having released April-June quarter results investors would naturally look to the performance of US stocks for leads, said Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities Co Ltd. Dealers said a fall in oil prices and a softer yen also encouraged buyers in the equities market. Oil prices extended their decline in Asian trading hours as a rise in US crude reserves eased worries about tight supplies although the September contract remained above 63 usd per barrel. The dollar was quoted at 110.19 yen shortly after the Japanese stock market closed, compared to 109.95 yen in late New York trading.