Nikkei climbs to 18-mth high

The recent weeks have shed positive light on the Japanese markets.

Japan's Nikkei climbed 1.4 percent to close at an 18-month high for the third straight day, buoyed by the yen's weakness after it hit a three-month low against the dollar and as resource shares gained on a rise in commodities prices.

Positive sentiment sparked by an improvement in Japanese business morale as well as a strong debut by Dai-ichi Life Insurance, which opened 14 percent above its $11 billion initial public offering, also fed buying, market players said.

The benchmark Nikkei rose 154.46 points to 11,244.40, its highest close since early October 2008. The broader Topix rose 0.7 percent to 985.26.