Nikkei Soars to Begin Week

Tokyo shares on Monday soared to near one-month highs in heavy volume as the Bank of Japan's surprise decision to adopt negative interest rates spurred further buying, lifting real estate stocks.

Real estate stocks, beneficiaries of lower interest rates, extended gains. Mitsui Fudosan Co surged 7.5 percent and Sumitomo Realty & Development soared 6.0 percent.

But bank stocks lost ground again as negative interest rates will eat into their interest revenues. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Japan Post Bank stumbled between 5.5 percent and 8.0 percent.

The Nikkei ended 2.0 percent higher at 17,865.23, its highest close since Jan. 6.

The broader Topix added 2.1 percent to 1,462.67, with 3.5 billion shares changing hands, versus an average daily volume of 2.2 billion. The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 rose 2.3 percent to 13,219.49.

(Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)