Nikkei closes at one-week high

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei hit a one-week high on Wednesday, with traders citing the launch of a near $780 million investment trust as a driver, while SoftBank Corp rose as it looked likely to win the battle for Sprint Nextel.

SoftBank <9984.T>, which is trying to buy Sprint , was the top-weighted gainer in the Nikkei, up 4.2 percent after Dish said it would not make a new offer for Sprint.

The Nikkei ended 1.8 percent higher at 13,245.22, reaching its highest since June 12 and closing above the bottom of the Ichimoku cloud in a bullish sign.

The broader Topix index climbed 1.9 percent to 1,106.57, ahead of the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which will give further indication whether it will soon scale back its stimulus.

 

(Reporting by Dominic Lau)