Share prices closed higher, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index settling at its best level in seven weeks, as investors continued to snap up stocks amid optimism over the Japanese economy, dealers said. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed up 89.23 points or 0.5 pct at 16,650.10, its highest close since Feb 7 when it ended at 16,720.99. The broader TOPIX index of all first-section issues rose 4.50 points or 0.3 pct to 1,693.84. Gainers overwhelmed losers 1,123 to 461, with 114 issues unchanged. Volume rose to 1.60 bln shares from 1.46 bln shares on Friday. "There are no major leads today but in such a circumstance, the market tends to reflect a wider trend, which is strong," said Hideyuki Suzuki, a strategist at SBI Securities. Expectations that prices will continue to rise and that the economy will be robust supported investor sentiment. "The land prices survey showed that the Japanese economy has finally bottomed out and raised expectations that the expansion is likely to continue for some time, after over 10 years of suffering," said Suzuki. But he expressed concern over the steady decline in trading volume after reaching a peak of over 4.5 bln shares in November. A government survey released last Thursday showed that land prices in Tokyo and three other prefectures rose for the first time in 15 years in 2005. Analysts said investors looked past the data released today which showed that Japanese firms were less bullish in January-March compared to October-December amid worries that high oil prices may cut earnings, according to a quarterly government survey. Mizuho Securities economist Osamu Katano said the results of the survey were a "complete mystery" to him. Katano thinks that the corporate sector "will continue to lead the recovery of the economy and that brisk corporate sector trend should be confirmed in next week's Tankan survey on business sentiment." Shares of chipmakers, real estate and non-ferrous metals were among significant gainers. In the chip sector, Fujitsu jumped 45 yen or 4.9 pct to 967, NEC Corp surged 22 yen or 3.0 pct to 756 and Oki Electric Industry rose 7 yen or 2.0 pct to 363.