Nikkei rises as corporate earnings buoy mood; SoftBank falls

TOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Friday as strong company earnings led by Nomura Holdings and Advantest Corp buoyed sentiment, but a sell-off in index-heavyweight SoftBank Corp limited the gains.

The Nikkei ended 0.4 percent higher at 17,674.39. For the week, the Nikkei gained 0.9 percent, while it rose 1.3 percent for the month.

The broader Topix added 0.1 percent to 1,415.07 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 0.1 percent to 12,830.17.

SoftBank Corp fell 3.4 percent and contributed a hefty 28.74 negative points to the Nikkei after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd reported lower-than-expected revenues for the third quarter. SoftBank has a 32.59 percent stake in Alibaba.

(Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)