Nikkei hits fresh 7-year high on hope for BOJ's buying

Tokyo stocks erased its early loss on Tuesday afternoon to hit a fresh seven-year high, supported by hope that the Bank of Japan would buy exchange-traded funds as part of its monetary easing steps.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 73.12 points, or 0.42 percent, from Monday at 17,663.22, its best finish since July 26, 2007.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 6.20 points, or 0.44 percent, higher at 1,427.85.
Gainers were led by mining, precision instruments and automaker issues.
The turnover was 2,174.7 billion yen (about 18.35 billion U.S. dollars).