Nikkei closes at a 7-week high after a third straight day of gains

Japanese shares closed higher for a third day in a row on Wednesday. Still, gains were limited amid a decline in US futures contracts and with local investors wary of unexpectedly weak business results from technology giants such as Alphabet and Microsoft.

The Nikkei rose 0.67 percent and hit more than 27,500 points for the first time since Sept. 20. It slipped slightly during the session and ended Wednesday at 27,432 points, the highest close in nearly seven weeks.

The broader Topix index rose 0.58 percent.

Denka was the best performer over the Nikkei, jumping 6.37 percent after the chemical products maker announced its results and said it planned to transfer its cement unit to another company.

Shipping companies suffered the largest losses on the index, and Toshiba shares fell 1.66%, after Kyodo News Agency reported that the consortium that plans to buy the technology giant will likely miss the deadline for obtaining loans to complete the deal.