TOKYO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.1 percent to a three-month closing high on Monday, adding to gains made last week as risk money shifts towards global equities on improving prospects for the U.S. economy.
The outlook for the U.S. economy has brightened after the Federal Reserve decided to buy more debt and after encouraging U.S. jobs data, helping push the Nikkei, an index which has lagged other stock markets, through 9,700.
But investors were careful about chasing the benchmark too aggressively as they expect profit-taking and technical selling after a jump of more than 6 percent since the start of last week, its best weekly performance in a year.
The Nikkei average ended the day up 106.93 points at 9,732.92, its highest close since July 28.
Upward momentum picked up after the Nikkei broke through a high of 9,716.92 reached on Oct. 7, lifting it to an intraday peak of 9,737.01.
Its next target would be an intraday high of around 9,750 reached in early August and further resistance is seen at its July peak of around 9,800.
The broader Topix gained 0.8 percent to 841.74. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)