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By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average jumped to a 6-1/2-month high on Thursday, on course to extend its winning streak to five days, as a less hawkish Federal Reserve outlook and expectations for no imminent change to Bank of Japan stimulus buoyed sentiment.
Gains overnight for U.S. tech shares lifted Japanese peers, while the yen's decline to a multi-month low provided broader support.
Real estate and financial shares, which usually move in opposite directions based on changes in bond yields, jointly paced gains on the Nikkei as investors favoured high dividend-yield stocks before the end of Japan's fiscal year this month.
The Nikkei ended the morning session up 0.56% at 28,604.56 after earlier scaling 28,734.79 for the first time since Aug. 26.
Ahead of big risk events on Friday, including crucial non-farm payrolls figures in the United States and BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's last policy decision before retirement, some investors were keen to start locking in profits.
But the rally was still broad, with 188 of the Nikkei's 225 components rising, while 28 fell and nine were flat.
The Topix gained 0.94% to 2,070.43, entering the lunch break close to the day's high of 2,071.60, the strongest since September 2021.
On his second day of testimony to Congress, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed his message from Tuesday of higher interest rates at a potentially faster pace, but stressed that a policy decision later this month would hinge on economic data.
"Powell's main scenario is still for a 25 basis-point hike, so he wanted to send a warning to the market - that's my interpretation," said Kenji Abe, an equity strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Meanwhile, "there's not much rationale to justify BOJ action this week," with inflationary pressures still relatively subdued and the timing sensitive just before the end of the fiscal year, Abe said.
Lender Resona Holdings was the top gainer on the Nikkei, up 3.41%. Chipmaking equipment giant Tokyo Electron was the index's biggest support, contributing 17 points with a 1.04% rise. (Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)