TOKYO, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Wednesday as the yen's retreat against the U.S. dollar gave exporters a boost, while domestic firms reporting solid earnings advanced.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 147.17 points, or 0.53 percent, from Tuesday to close the day at 27,741.90.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, added 5.28 points, or 0.27 percent, to finish at 1,930.77.

Local brokers said that investors sought out stocks with robust earnings and outlooks, with Nikkei heavyweights SoftBank Group, Tokyo Electron and Fast Retailing lifting the broader market.

"Investors looked for stocks with positive earnings results and that gave a boost to the Japanese market. Also, they bought stocks after a drop in the previous session," Maki Sawada, a strategist at Nomura Securities, was quoted as saying.

The yen's retreat after rising to a two-month high in the previous session also lifted exporter issues who stand to gain on enhanced competitiveness in overseas markets and increased profits when repatriated, market strategists here said.

Some market players hit the sidelines, however, ahead of key U.S. jobs data due to be released Friday, they added.

"Ongoing concerns over the health of the U.S. economy and cues on future rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve amid its aggressive monetary policy to tackle inflation saw some investors refrain from bold moves," a Tokyo-based investment analyst said.

By the close of play, precision instrument, wholesale trade and insurance issues comprised those that gained the most, and issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 1,074 to 683 on the Prime Market, while 81 ended the day unchanged.

Heavily-weighted components finding favor included chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron gaining 0.1 percent and technology investor SoftBank Group rising 0.8 percent.

Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo clothing store chain, was another notable winner, advancing 1.5 percent by the close.

Firms reporting solid earnings and outlooks drew buying, with air-conditioning systems maker Daikin Industries climbing 4 percent after raising its outlook, while electronic product maker Ibiden jumped 4.5 after its quarterly earnings beat market expectations.

Electric machinery makers advanced on the yen's decline, meanwhile, with Mitsubishi Electric gaining 2.9 percent, Hitachi rising 1.9 percent, while Omron closed 1.6 percent higher.

On the Prime Market on Wednesday, 1,176.60 million shares changed hands, rising from Tuesday's volume of 1,160.86 million shares.

The turnover on the third trading day of the week came to 2,920.01 billion yen (21.93 billion U.S. dollars).