Tokyo, January 29 (QNA) - Japanese stocks rose on Thursday, led by chip-testing equipment maker Advantest.

The broader Topix index climbed 0.3 percent to 3,545.30 points, erasing early losses of 0.8 percent, while the Nikkei index, which has a heavy weighting of technology stocks, was flat at 53,375.60 points after earlier losses of 0.7 percent.

Shares of defense companies gained, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rising 2.1 percent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries up 2.5 percent, and IHI Corp advancing 2.8 percent.

Advantest shares jumped 5.2 percent after the Nvidia supplier raised its annual profit forecast by 21 percent.

Shares of chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron fell 5.6 percent, while Fujikura shares lost 3 percent.

Automaker stocks rose 2.3 percent, rebounding after a 6.7 percent decline over the previous three sessions amid a sharp rise in the yen, which erodes the value of export revenues.

Toyota Motor shares gained 3 percent. The company said it maintained its position as the world’s top-selling automaker for the sixth consecutive year. (QNA)